The defeat in the Battle of Lanling made the Eastern Expeditionary Army completely lose its advantage over Dong Xian, and then, the Eastern Expeditionary Army led by Gai Yan was no longer able to confront Dong Xianjun head-on, so it could only avoid the edge of Dong Xianjun and fight guerrilla warfare with movement warfare.

In stark contrast to Gaiyan's side, the Taishan battlefield led by Chen Jun played triumphant songs and won successive battles.

Chen Jun's step-by-step advance in Taishan County made Zhang Bu feel tremendous pressure, and sent the general Zhou Yuan to lead an army of 50,000 into Taishan County.

The Han army commanded by Chen Jun and Zhang Bujun commanded by Zhou Yuan won the battle against Taishan County.

Both sides have moved their main forces to win here, intending to fight a decisive battle in win.

Win is located near Win County, Win County is in the upper reaches of Wenshui, and Win is in the downstream of Wenshui.

In this battle, the Han army commanded by Chen Jun defeated Zhou Yuan's Zhang Bujun, and after winning the main battlefield and achieving a big victory, the Han army took advantage of the situation to pursue and chase Zhou Yuan and the remnants under his command to flee in a hurry.

The remnants of Zhou Yuan were defeated again and again, and finally they all escaped from Taishan County and ran into Jinan County north of Taishan County.

After this battle, the Han army can be said to have won a complete victory, and there were more than 90 seals and ribbons captured.

Winning the battle laid a solid foundation for the Han army to fully occupy Taishan County.

After this battle, Chen Jun swept the counties in Taishan County with the aftermath of the great victory, and many counties just heard the news of the arrival of the Han army, so they gave up resistance and surrendered the city.

In just two months, Chen Jun lived up to expectations and led the Han army to sweep away the entire Taishan County and occupy the entire territory of Taishan County.

He, the Taishan Taishou, is no longer in name only, but has become a real Taishan Taishou.

After that, Chen Jun reorganized Taishan County as Taishou.

Remove unreliable county officials, as well as county magistrates, county lieutenants, and county magistrates, and massively employ officials who are both capable and loyal to the Han family.

While administering the government, Chen Jun did not forget to actively prepare for the war, integrate the resources of the whole county, recruit troops, practice day and night, and hoard grain and grass in preparation for Zhang Bujun's counterattack that may come at any time.

The battle reports of Taishan County and Donghai County continued to reach Luoyang.

When Liu Xiu saw the battle report of Taishan County, he was so comfortable to look at, but when he saw the battle report of Donghai County, he was so happy.

The defeat in the battle of Lanling was too great for his own losses, Ben Xiu died, and most of the 30,000 soldiers under Ben Xiu's command also died, if these people were still alive, what a help for their own side! The defeat in this battle greatly hindered the eastward advance of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and the responsibility for all this naturally fell on Gaiyan.

After receiving the battle report of the Battle of Lanling, Liu Xiu issued an edict to reprimand Gai Yan, and it was not the next edict, but several edicts in a row.

The defeat of his side in Lanling was completely avoidable, but because of Gaiyan's underestimation of the enemy, his rashness, and his stubbornness, the good situation of his side was wiped out.

In addition, the contradiction between Gai Yan and Pang Meng also gave Liu Xiu a headache.

Gai Yan and Pang Meng's open break was another major reason for their defeat.

Gaiyan is the commander of the whole army, and he can indeed act in accordance with the point that 'the general will not be subject to the orders of the foreign king', and this is not wrong in itself, and it cannot be said that Gaiyan has done something wrong just because the result is not good.

Pang Meng insisted on acting in accordance with the holy decree, which was not wrong.

Therefore, the break between Gai Yan and Pang Meng is really not easy to judge here in Liu Xiu.

However, Pang Meng did not move in Chu County, seeing that Gai Yan and Ben Xiu were under siege, and they did not save him when they saw death, which made Liu Xiu quite dissatisfied with him, and in addition, Pang Meng killed Shi Li Xiang, the magistrate of Chu County, in the Han army camp outside Pengcheng, which made Liu Xiu even more annoyed.

After thinking about it, Liu Xiu sent an edict to Pang Meng and summoned him to return to Beijing immediately.

It didn't take long for Liu Xiu's edict to reach Chu County.

After receiving Liu Xiu's edict, Pang Meng read it carefully from beginning to end, and then frowned.

Now the situation in Donghai County is not optimistic, Gai Yan no longer dares to confront the main force of Dong Xianjun, so he can only run around to find weaknesses and fight sports warfare.

The generals under Pang Meng's command all have the same idea.

After reading the contents of the edict, people frowned one by one.

One of the famous generals arched his hand to Pang Meng and said, "Your Majesty is now calling the general back to Beijing, I'm afraid things are not simple!" ”

Another general nodded and said, "That's right! Gaiyan was defeated in Lanling, and he would definitely put the blame on the general.

Gai Yan has repeatedly slandered His Majesty and framed the general, which has caused His Majesty's dissatisfaction with the general, and now that such a thing has happened, His Majesty's dissatisfaction with the general is only even greater! ”

"Also, Zhao Meng is holding on to the fact that Li Xiang was killed, thinking that Zhao Meng also told His Majesty about the general's situation, if the general really returns to Beijing after the edict, I am afraid that it will ...... There is no return! ”

The generals and officials helped Pang Meng analyze every word, and their analysis was all said in Pang Meng's heart, Pang Meng also thought that this time His Majesty summoned him to Beijing, I am afraid it is not simple, it is very likely that he will be imprisoned as soon as he enters Beijing.

He patted the edict on the table lightly and said, "The edict of the Son of Heaven has been issued, if I don't return to Beijing, won't I resist the edict and disobey it?" ”

The generals looked at each other and bowed their heads.

A general swallowed his saliva, glanced at Pang Meng, and said faintly: "Gai Yan made such a big mistake in Lanling, which led to the annihilation of the entire army of Benxiu and the heavy losses of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, but His Majesty not only removed him from his position as the chief general of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, but also called the general back to Beijing, which can only show that Gai Yan is putting all the responsibility on the head of the general, and Your Majesty also believes Gai Yan's words!" ”

When Pang Meng heard this, his body was obviously shocked, and the hand on the table slowly clenched into a fist.

The general continued: "As long as Gaiyan is still there, and the general is in the court, there will never be a day!" ”

Hearing this, Pang Meng's face became more and more ugly, and he was so gloomy that he was about to drip water.

Another general said: "General, with the current situation, Gaiyan is in the East China Sea, is there any hope of victory?" ”

Pang Meng pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you mean by this?" ”

The general said: "Judging from the last general, it is now unpredictable whether the two sides will win or lose.

And the general is the key, whose side the general is on, whose chances of victory can be greatly increased! The general is loyal to the Han family, but His Majesty listens to Gaiyan, rather than being bullied like this, it is better to ......" As he spoke, he stretched out his palm and turned it over.

Show with your actions, just do it the other way around! After watching his actions, the faces of everyone present changed the same, and then people looked at Pang Meng in unison.

Pang Meng's expression was vague, and he neither agreed with what the general said, but also did not reprimand the general.

He stood up, one hand gripping the hilt of his saber, pacing back and forth in the tent.

A general cleared his throat and said, "No matter what decision the general makes, the last general will follow the general to the death!" ”

All the generals present intervened to salute one after another, and said in unison: "No matter what the general decides, the last general will swear to follow the general to the death!" ”

Pang Meng is actually a very good person, he is affectionate, righteous, meritorious, he never monopolizes it, he will definitely bring his subordinates and get rewards, he will never only put it in his pocket, but will take out most of it and distribute it to the soldiers below.

So Pang Meng has no family background, sometimes the clothes are torn, and he is reluctant to throw them away, sew them, mend them, and then wear them.

With such a top boss, can the generals below not be convinced?

Pang Meng has a very high prestige in his own troops, and he responds to every call.

"General! Now Gai Yan is bent on putting the general to death, and His Majesty has listened to Gai Yan's slander, if the general is ordered to return to Beijing, he is only afraid of ...... It's hard to save your life! ”

"If the general does not return to Beijing under the edict, he will definitely be truthful!"

"Also, general, our army's grain and grass are almost exhausted, and the county government is close at hand, but they refuse to reinforce our army with a grain of food, this is to starve our soldiers to death! If the general is gone, the whole army will ...... What should the whole army do? ”

"General, you can't leave the brothers alone!"

"General......" Pang Meng stopped and turned his head to look at the generals who were staring at him.

He shook, clucking the hilt of his sword.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Gaiyan is too deceitful! Zhao Meng deceived people too much! ”

"General-" All the generals took a step forward, and they all held the hilt of their swords, and said in unison: "General, you give an order, go up the sword mountain, go down to the sea of fire, and the brothers will follow you!" ”

"General, give the order!"

Pang Meng slowly pulled out the saber under his ribs, his fingertips gently stroked the cold sword body, and he said: "I, Pang Meng, am loyal to Your Majesty, go to the soup and go to the fire, I have never had the slightest hesitation, I have never had two hearts, today I Pang Meng rebelled, all because of Gai Yan, Zhao Meng and others!" ”

Hearing this, all the generals present also drew their swords one after another, rushed forward together, held their swords upside down, intervened in the salute, and said: "As long as the general gives an order, the last general will immediately attack Pengcheng and capture the Zhao thief!" ”

Pang Meng squinted his eyes, his gaze slowly swept over everyone's faces, and said quietly: "I, Pang Meng, have today's actions, all because I was forced to be helpless!" I don't have a choice, but you all have a choice, as long as any of you want to quit and don't want to follow me, speak up now, I'll entangle you and let you go! ”

The generals didn't say a word, they knelt on their knees, kowtowed forward, and said: "The general treats us like a mountain, and even if we are crushed and our livers and brains are smeared, we still don't ask for the general's kindness."

The lives of the brothers have long been yours of the general! ”

When Pang Meng heard this, his eyes turned red, he looked at the people present, choked and nodded, and said in a trembling voice: "Today, I, Pang Meng, can swear to the heavens, as long as I Pang Meng still have a bite to eat, I will never let my brothers go hungry!" ”

"I'll swear allegiance to the general! Swear to follow the general! ”

Pang Meng nodded heavily, thrust the sword in his hand into the ground, and said in a loud voice: "Pass my order, all the soldiers of the army, follow me into Pengcheng!" ”

No one expected that Pang Meng, who was so favored by the Son of Heaven, would suddenly rebel in Chu County.

Pang Meng's army was stationed outside Pengcheng, and Pengcheng had no defense against Pang Meng's army.

When Pang Meng led the army to the city gate, the city gate was still wide open, and the soldiers guarding the city gate stepped forward one after another, bowed to Pang Meng, and asked curiously: "Is General Pang going to lead his troops to pull out?" ”

Pang Meng didn't have a word of nonsense, waved his hand forward, and shouted: "Take it all!" ”

With his order, the soldiers behind him swarmed up, disarming the soldiers of the county army who were all with question marks in their heads, and pressed them to the ground.

Pang ...... General Pang, you ...... What are you doing?

What did the villain do wrong? ”

A nearby county soldier lay on the ground, raised his head with great effort, and looked at Pang Meng in confusion.

Pang Meng didn't bother to pay attention, rode a war horse, and swaggered into Pengcheng.

Pang Meng's subordinates followed, and the 30,000-strong army did not encounter the slightest resistance, and entered Pengcheng completely without blood.

Soon, the news that Pang Meng led his army into the city also reached the county government.

Zhao Meng, the Taishou of Chu County, was taken aback when he heard the news.

It stands to reason that if Pang Meng wants to lead the army into the city, he must say hello to himself, the Taishou, in advance, and it is impossible to lead the army into the city so recklessly.

In addition, Pang Meng also took down the county troops guarding the city gate, what did he want to do?

He's going to rebel!