In the study, the strategist Tang Yan hesitated for a moment and said to Zhang Mingqi: "Lord, in fact, we still have a way out, which is to withdraw to Hangzhou and join forces with the broken army in Hangzhou to jointly resist the army of the Lu State!" ”

Zhang Mingqi shook his head and said: "For this point, the Governor of the Metropolitan has also considered it, but in that case, our Southeast Xiang Army will definitely be annexed by the Broken Army, the Metropolitan Governor would rather take refuge in the people of the Lu State than be Liu Ji's subordinate, and this time the Broken Army may not be able to block the Lu Army, losing the advantages of the terrain of Zhejiang and Fuzhou, plus the Broken Army is still in the war period with the Dawan Kingdom in the Western Regions, it will be a very difficult thing for the Broken Army to defeat the Lu Army." ”

Strategist Tang Yan smiled bitterly, in fact, Tang Yan still understands why Zhang Mingqi is reluctant to take refuge in the Broken Army, after all, Zhang Mingqi and Liu Ji had the same status before, and they were both the Grand Governors of the Jin State.

When he was about to walk out of the state governor's mansion in Jianyang City, Fan Dongying stopped, lowered his voice and said to Yuan Tianba: "Are the guards around you reliable?" ”

Yuan Tianba hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Although these guards around me were all brought out from Jiao Guo, I am not sure if anyone will be bought by Tang Yan's red fox!" ”

Fan Dongying immediately said: "I am also not at ease with the guards around me, while the guards around us are all left outside the state pastoral mansion, let's make a long story short, look at what Zhang Mingqi means, he is ready to surrender to the Lu State, and I, Fan Dongying, will never give in to the Lu State!" ”

Yuan Tianba said in a deep voice: "My wife, as well as the unborn child, all died at the hands of the Lu people, and it is impossible for me Yuan Tianba to surrender to the Lu people!" If you hadn't stopped me just now, I would have had to ask Zhang Mingqi how he promised me in the first place! ”

Fan Dongying shook his head and said: "At this time and that time, now that the Southeast Xiang Army has been defeated again and again, and Zhang Mingqi would rather surrender to the Lu people than seek the support of the Broken Army, I am ready to lead the troops to leave Jianyang City and go to Hangzhou to join the Broken Army." ”

Yuan Tianba immediately said: "Okay! Our ideas coincide! Now only the Broken Army can help me Yuan Tianba avenge it! ”

On the morning of December 3, Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the First Army of the Southeast Xiang Army, and Yuan Tianba, the deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard Army, led part of the troops of these two legions in Jianyang City to leave without saying goodbye and went straight to the north of Jianyang City.

"Bang-" A teacup was slammed to the ground by Zhang Mingqi, "Mr. Tang, how did you promise this Metropolitan Governor!" As a result, now Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba have run away with their troops! ”

Strategist Tang Yan said embarrassedly: "It's all subordinates who are not doing well, please punish the lord!" The people sent by Red Fox to Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba were all confused by these two people, and they didn't notice the small movements of these two people at all. ”

Zhang Mingqi gritted his teeth and said: "These two bastards, even if they are not willing to join the Lu people with the Metropolitan Governor, they just leave alone, but now they are leaving the Metropolitan Governor with at least 300,000 troops, and it is in vain that the Metropolitan Governor trusts them so much!" ”

At this time, Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion, said angrily: "Lord, it's better to let your subordinates lead the troops to chase them back!" ”

Strategist Tang Yan immediately spoke out to stop him: "Can't chase!" Among the 300,000 people taken away by Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, almost all of them are the most effective troops of the First Army and the Praetorian Guard Legion, once General Liu leads people to catch up, not only will they not be able to keep Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, as well as the 300,000 troops, but it will further expand the losses of our Southeast Wing Army. ”

Zhang Mingqi sighed and said, "Forget it, it's going to rain, and the mother wants to get married, so let them go!" Looking at the direction in which Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba led their troops to leave, they should have gone to Hangzhou and were ready to take refuge in the Broken Army, alas-"

Then Zhang Mingqi said to the strategist Tang Yan: "Mr. Tang, you immediately send someone to contact the Lu State to discuss the matter of the Southeast Xiang Army defecting to the Lu State. ”

Strategist Tang Yan frowned slightly and said: "Lord, General Zhao Lianjin and General Zhou Jiling are leading their troops to retreat to Jianyang City and take refuge in the Lu State, so there is no need to wait for the two generals to come back before ......."

Zhang Mingqi waved his hand and said: "Don't wait for them, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling have always been loyal to the Governor of the Metropolis, and the Governor of the Metropolitan has decided to take refuge in the Lu State, and they will definitely continue to follow the Governor of the Metropolis!" ”

On the evening of December 5, in the territory of Fuyu County, Suzhou, the remnants of the Second and Fifth Legions of the Southeast Wing Army converged with the remnants of the Third and Sixth Legions, and there were more than 100,000 troops of the Janissary Legion in the two Southeast Wing Armies.

In a curtain, Zhou Jiling said to Zhao Lianjin in a deep voice: "Do you know the news of Jianyang City? ”

Zhao Lianjin frowned and asked, "What's the news from Jianyang City?" ”

Zhou Jiling sighed and said: "Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the First Legion, and Yuan Tianba, the deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard Legion, led the 300,000 troops of the two legions, and they have already rebelled out of our Southeast Wing Army, and Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba have taken these 300,000 people to join the Broken Army!" ”

"What! And such a thing! In vain, the lord has so much trust in Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, how can they betray the lord at this time! When Zhao Lianjin heard this, he immediately said angrily.

Zhou Jiling shook his head and said: "According to the news from Jianyang City, the lord is ready to surrender to the Lu State, Fan Dongying, Yuan Tianba and the Lu State have a deep hatred, and it is normal for them to lead troops to join the Broken Army at this time. ”

Zhao Lianjin suddenly stood up and asked in disbelief, "What did you say?" The lord wants to surrender to the state of Lu? ”

Zhou Jiling said with a wry smile: "That's true, the lord should have sent someone to contact Lu Guo by now." ”

Zhao Lianjin asked with a solemn face: "General Zhou, is the news you got accurate?" ”

Zhou Jiling shrugged his shoulders and said: "This news is absolutely accurate, we are now less than two hundred miles away from Jianyang City, and when we return to Jianyang City, General Zhao will know if this news is true." ”

"No, I want to return to Jianyang City immediately to dissuade the lord from surrendering to the Lu State, even if he surrenders to the Broken Army, he can't surrender to the Lu State, after all, the Broken Army is still the army of the Jin State, and the Lu State is a foreign enemy!" Zhao Lianjin turned around and prepared to walk outside the tent.

"General Zhao, don't worry, you return to Jianyang City like this, do you think you can make the lord change his mind?"

Zhao Lianjin's body was stunned, "But we can't surrender to the Lu people!" I, Zhao Lianjin, would rather die in battle than surrender to the people of Lu! ”

Zhou Jiling sighed and said: "General Zhao, I, Zhou Jiling, am also unwilling to surrender to the Lu people and shame the ancestors of our old Zhou family!" ”

Then Zhou Jiling continued: "General Zhao, although you and I have an average relationship, but at this time, I will not hide it, I am not ready to continue to lead the troops to retreat to Jianyang City, I want to lead the troops to Hangzhou, take refuge in the broken army, and continue to fight against the Lu army, I don't know if you are willing to go to Hangzhou together?" ”

After Zhou Jiling said this, his palms were already sweating, in fact, Zhou Jiling ambushed many knife and axe men outside the tent, once Zhao Lianjin was unwilling to go with him to join the Broken Army, then Zhou Jiling would break the teacup, let the knife and axe hand outside rush into the tent, hack Zhao Lianjin to death, and then annex the remaining army in Zhao Lianjin's hands, and then go to Hangzhou to take refuge in the Broken Army.

After Zhao Lianjin pondered for a moment, he sighed and said: "It's not that I, Zhao Lianjin, want to betray the lord, but the lord surrenders to the Lu country, and I, Zhao Lianjin, must not follow, since General Zhou is determined to go to Hangzhou, then I, Zhao Lianjin, am willing to go with him!" ”

The reason why Zhao Lianjin agreed so happily is because Zhao Lianjin has long had the heart to take refuge in the Broken Army, after all, the series of brilliant achievements before the Broken Army have shown that the future of the Great Jin Dynasty will definitely fall into the hands of the Broken Army, whether it is the current court of the Great Jin Dynasty or the former Southeast Wing Army, they can't stop the Broken Army.

Zhao Lianjin understands the truth of choosing a tree to perch on, but for betraying Zhang Mingqi, Zhao Lianjin has not passed the hurdle in his heart, and now Zhang Mingqi wants to surrender to the Lu State, which is equivalent to helping Zhao Lianjin cross the hurdle in his heart.

Zhou Jiling suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, "General Zhao, no matter what conflicts we had before, just because you are unwilling to surrender to the Lu State, I, Zhou Jiling, am willing to treat you as a brother in the future!" ”

"Good! I, Zhao, will definitely treat General Zhou as a brother in the future! The two of us brothers, in the future, we need to support each other a lot! ”

"Brother Zhao is right, after joining the Broken Army, our brothers should support each other more!"

On the morning of the next day, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling combed through the army in their hands, and the two clearly told their subordinates that they were ready to take refuge in the Broken Army, because Zhang Mingqi wanted to take refuge in the Lu State, and most of the generals under Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling were willing to follow the two to join the Broken Army.

However, there are also some generals who are loyal to Zhang Mingqi, unwilling to follow Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling to Hangzhou, Zhou Jiling was originally going to execute these generals who were unwilling to follow the two, but was stopped by Zhao Lianjin, Zhao Lianjin released these generals who were loyal to Zhang Mingqi, let them ride out of the barracks, and went to Jianyang City to report to Zhang Mingqi, and the army in the hands of these generals stayed.

Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling led about 500,000 troops of the southeast Xiang army, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, on the afternoon of December 6, they continued to set off, but the march direction of the 500,000 troops was no longer Jianyang City, but turned to Hangzhou in the north.

"Bang-bang-bang-" The three teacups were continuously slammed to the ground by Zhang Mingqi, "Bastard!" It's all bastards! I, Zhang Mingqi, trusted them so much, and they all betrayed me! Come on, bring the armor of the Metropolitan Governor, and the Metropolitan Governor will personally lead the troops to cut off the heads of the two traitors, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling! ”

The generals who were let go by Zhao Lianjin had returned to Jianyang City, and at the same time brought Zhang Mingqi a piece of news that made him angry, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling, the two most outstanding generals of the Southeast Xiang Army, actually chose to betray the Southeast Xiang Army at this time, betrayed Zhang Mingqi, the commander of the Southeast Xiang Army, and led the 500,000 troops of the Southeast Xiang Army to Hangzhou to join the Broken Army.

Strategist Tang Yan hurriedly said: "The lord is angry, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling have 500,000 troops in their hands, and our first legion and Praetorian Guard Legion here in Jianyang City, after Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba left, it can be said that their strength has been greatly damaged, even if the lord brings all the 1.2 million troops here in Jianyang City, he may not be able to defeat the 500,000 army in the hands of Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling, not to mention that according to the current situation, we can't catch up with Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling." ”

Zhang Mingqi suddenly kicked the strategist Tang Yan down at this time, "Tang Yan, the Governor of this city handed over the red fox to you, but what are you doing!" Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba ran away with their troops, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling also ran away with their troops now, why didn't Red Fox even have any news before! Didn't you say that there were already many secret agents planted around the generals? ”

Zhang Mingqi's kick was very hard, and he kicked Tang Yan for a long time at once, and then he caught his breath, thanks to Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion, who stopped him, otherwise Zhang Mingqi would have wanted to kick Tang Yan a few more times.

Tang Yan stood up, covered his stomach and said gloomily: "The subordinates are not in a good position, and they are willing to deal with it by the lord, but according to the current situation of our Southeast Xiang Army, it is really not appropriate for a big war to break out again, otherwise we will not even have the qualifications to negotiate with the Lu State." ”

Zhang Mingqi took a deep breath and asked Tang Yan in a deep voice, "How is the contact with the people of Lu Guo?" ”

Tang Yan immediately said: "Lord, the people have been sent out, and there is no news yet, but it should be soon." ”

"As soon as there is news, you immediately come and tell the Governor!"

"Yes, my lord!"

What Zhang Mingqi didn't expect was that Tang Yan never appeared in front of him again, and on the night after Zhang Mingqi learned that Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling had betrayed him, Tang Yan actually left Jianyang City with about 600,000 troops of the Southeast Xiang Army, including the 200,000 recruits that the Southeast Xiang Army had just recruited near Jianyang City.

After Zhang Mingqi got the news, he immediately spit out a mouthful of blood, and then Zhang Mingqi angrily asked Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion: "Tang Yan doesn't even have military power in his hands, how can he take away 600,000 people!" ”

Liu Fengbao said with a wry smile: "Lord, maybe Tang Yan has used the red fox to control many generals in the army, and even my Fourth Legion, there are about 40,000 people who left with Tang Yan, and looking at the direction in which Tang Yan led the troops to leave, Tang Yan should also go to join the Broken Army." ”

Zhang Mingqi muttered to himself: "Could it be that the Governor of Ben chose to take refuge in the Lu State wrongly?" Why did the military generals under the command of the Governor leave the Governor one by one? ”

Liu Fengbao hesitated for a moment, did not answer Zhang Mingqi's question, but asked, "Lord, then what should we do next?" Do you still send someone to contact the people of Lu? ”