The envoy of Yanbei returned to Shifeng City and told Wei Zeng the news of the Jiangnan army going north. Wei Zeng had already heard the news of Fan Yuyi's rise in the south, and originally planned to wait for the unification of the Central Plains to enter the south of the Yangtze River, but now Wei Zeng could only choose to fight.

"It seems that we can only relax our offensive against An Yun first, and wait until we repel the army in Jiangnan before making plans. However, the Central Plains is the foundation of the imperial industry, as long as we can determine the Central Plains, we will have the capital to unify the world in the future. The Jiangnan region is relatively far away, and there are still big rivers and natural dangers, so it is not very suitable for us to attack Jiangnan now. Therefore, it is enough to repel the Jiangnan army and bring Xu Huai into his hands. Then immediately dispatched a large army to attack An Yun. Qi Weilun instructed on the way to bid farewell to Wei Zeng.

"What the eldest brother said, that's what I thought. I thought it would take some time for Fan Yuyi to unify Jiangnan, but it was beyond my expectation that he would come so quickly. Zhang Ling's main force has been defeated, Guan Shanjun should not be transferred or continue to attack, as long as Zhang Ling is not given a chance to breathe, he will not want to turn over. As for Cha Yi's horse team, it is better to transfer it back, Jiangnan lacks horses, and there is no formed cavalry, so Cha Yi's horse team can play a great role. Wei Zeng said.

"There is no problem with Brother Xian's arrangement, we now have enough food and grass, and there is no shortage of manpower, just to repel the Jiangnan people, it will not be a problem." Qi Weilun nodded in agreement.

Bidding farewell to Qi Weilun, Wei Zeng led an army of 30,000 to attack in the direction of Xu Huai, and the troops in other areas have also received Wei Zeng's dispatch to assemble in the direction of Xu Huai, and when the battle comes, 80,000 troops can be gathered.

Today's Wei Zeng feels deep exhaustion, this exhaustion is generated from the bottom of his heart, making people feel a pale sense of powerlessness. It has been seven years since the uprising in Stone Wind City, and in the past seven years, there have been many battles of all sizes, and they have grown little by little. Little by little, Wei Zeng has always been full of confidence.

It's just that the deaths of Jiang Luqing and Yu Chaogui made him feel for the first time that these wars seemed meaningless.

Wei Zeng has only one wish, that is, to wait for the people he should be waiting for and protect the people he should protect. Something happened. is because he doesn't want to see the tragic death of his hometown father. The fight against the Jingnan Army and the Iron Blood Army is also to avoid retaliation against the people of the hometown.

Then he fell into a protracted war for hegemony, defeating one enemy after another, and taking pieces of land into his hands, but also a sense of pride in victory. Of course, it is also closer to marching into Kansai and bringing Feng Liansheng back.

Of course Wei Zeng knew that people would die in battle, but after seeing too much of the tragic situation on the battlefield, Wei Zeng didn't feel anything for a long time.

With the death of two cronies. Wei Zeng now thinks of the scenes of past wars, and he really feels deeply uncomfortable.

"When the Central Plains are unified and Li'er is brought back, I will never fight again. Now I have a lot of generals under my command, and I just leave it to them. I put half of the world down, and then leave everything to other people, and I think it's okay. When the time comes, out of sight, out of mind. Everything will be fine. Wei Zeng said secretly in his heart.

After marching for more than ten days, Wei Zeng led an army of 80,000 to the boundary of Xuhuai. After receiving the news that Jiangnan people were going north. Wei Zeng immediately rushed here, and along the way, he did not encounter any enemies except for the enemy's exploration horses, and it was obvious that the Jiangnan army had not yet attacked the Yanbei territory.

"Where are the main forces of the enemy? Is there an ambush ahead? This time we received the news in time and quickly gathered the army in one place, and the Jiangnan people did not have the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, otherwise we would have fought with Zhang Ling on the front line. was stabbed in the back by a Jiangnan person, but it was troublesome. Wei Zeng said.

"According to the Tanmalay report, Jiangnan people have come to Suicheng. After hearing the news of the general's arrival, he set up camp thirty miles north of Suicheng, intending to meet the general. This time, the Jiangnan people dispatched about 70,000 troops. Together with the local defenders of Suicheng, the total strength reached 100,000. However, the local defenders of Suicheng do not seem to have fought with the Jiangnans. ”

"The official of Suicheng is an old fox, who does not dare to attack us, but he has always refused to surrender. This time, according to the messenger's report, the old fox was also unwilling to cooperate with the Jiangnan people. It couldn't be better. Now that our strength is no worse than the enemy, this time we don't need to delay with the enemy, just directly fight a decisive battle with its main force and drive them away. After Wei Zeng finished speaking, he led the army to directly meet the Jiangnan army.

After pacifying the southeast, Fan Jiyi did not go north with the army, but went to the southeast to meet with the famous figures in Shilin, and arranged the big and small matters in the southeast by the way. This time, it was Fu Zuci and a group of staff from the Governor's Mansion who led the army north.

"I didn't expect Wei Zeng's army to gather so quickly, before we reached Yanbei, he had already killed us, and this posture was going to drive us back to Jiangnan directly. However, the 70,000 people here are not something he can break through casually. After Brother Gu Yi arranges the affairs of the southeast, he will lead reinforcements over, and it is not easy to defeat Wei Zeng with Brother Ji Yi's talent! Fu Zuci saw Wei Zeng's army and said to the staff.

"What Lord Fu said is that as long as Lord Fan brings troops over, it will be no problem to defeat Wei Zeng. However, Suicheng's order is really too unreasonable, we have to fight against Wei Zeng for him, and he only sent so many old, weak, sick and disabled. A staff member pointed to the hundreds of poorly equipped and emaciated soldiers in the army.

"That person is too timid, and he is afraid to do things, and he can't become a big climate. But after all, he has surrendered to our army, and he has not committed any wrongdoing, and I will not punish him. I won't mention him, and if I do, I'm just upset. By the way, is there any news from the envoy who sent Yaodong? Fu Zuci talked about the governor of Suicheng and shook his head, and finally asked about the envoy Yaodong.

"It will take some time for the envoy to cross the Siqing Sea, and there is no news yet. However, the Ding family brothers are also being suppressed by Wei Zeng now, and they should not refuse the proposal to join us. The staff replied.

"With the support of the Yaodong people, we can defeat Wei Zeng faster, without them, it will only take some more time. Ordered the soldiers to form a formation to meet the enemy, and the thousands of infantry armor we obtained from the southeast can now be put to use. Seeing that Wei Zeng's army had already moved forward, Fu Zuci ordered his soldiers to form a formation to meet the battle.

The southeast region is rich in armor, and the weapon forging technology is also very developed, especially the step armor weighing fifty catties, which exerts the defensive function of the armor to the limit.

It's just that the southeast region emphasizes literature and light military force, and the upper-class people don't talk about military affairs, and they go in and out of Goolan tiles all day long, doing some stormy things. A large number of refined weapons and armor were sealed in the arsenal. Usually no one cares, let it rust and rot. When encountering military incidents, the army formed in a hurry was vulnerable, not because the soldiers did not work hard, not because the weapons were not sophisticated, but because those officers were accustomed to living a life of dogs and horses. All the guts turned into dung with the flesh and wine.

Lu Boding easily occupied the southeast back then, and it was indispensable to have something to do with this kind of atmosphere in the southeast. It's just that now Lu Boding has also embarked on this path of corruption, and after a few years of fun, he can't exert any strength in the face of Fan Yuyi's army.

As a result, the equipment in the southeast arsenal changed hands several times and came into the hands of Fan Yuyi. Most of the soldiers who participated in the Northern Expedition this time were replaced with refined weapons, which was also an important reason why Fu Zuci felt very confident.

The two armies clashed, and a battle began, in the middle of the battle. A unit of several thousand people in the Jiangnan army entered the battle group, and almost no one could stop it.

I saw this army, all of them wearing step armor, wearing hoods, and iron masks on their faces, which can be said to be armed to the teeth. In his hand is the glaive knife and the long knife of chopping horses, and under one knife, he often splits the Yanbei soldiers who are blocking the way in half. Thousands of people rushed to kill together, defeating the Yanbei army one after another.

"This force is very good. It is the so-called Iron Mask Army in Jiangnan. I have heard of the Jiangnan Iron Mask Army, and only wears two masks: a smiling face and a crying face. It is to make the enemy cry and laugh. However, although Guan Shanjun is not there, it is not difficult to defeat them. This time, it also gave them a taste of what it was like to cry and laugh. Wei Zeng laughed.

Under Wei Zeng's orders, the soldiers in the charge retreated, and the crossbowmen fired, covering the retreat of the infantry.

Seeing the retreat of Yanbei's army, Fu Zuci thought it was a good time to defeat Wei Zeng in one fell swoop. He ordered the army to attack on all fronts.

"The scholar led the troops, and he really had a little more spirit, I admire the generals on the other side." When Wei Zeng saw that he was retreating to lure the enemy, the Jiangnan army attacked on all fronts, and couldn't help but laugh.

Then Wei Zeng ordered Gu Chayi's horse team in the rear to attack. Go around to the flank of the Jiangnan army and harass the enemy with guerrillas. The retreating infantry regrouped to resist the onslaught of the Jiangnan army.

In the past few years, the soldiers of Yanbei have fought in the south and the north, and have experienced countless battles of all sizes, and they are already the elite of a hundred battles, and they can do orders and prohibitions in the face of various situations.

It is very easy for the Yanbei army not to be defeated in the retreat, and to re-form the formation in the retreat. The Jiangnan army attacked on all fronts, and the result was that all the troops were blocked. And Gu Chayi's horse team came from the side, which caused great confusion in the Jiangnan army in the charge.

I saw that the infantry of the northern Yanbei army blocked the enemy, the cavalry outflanked, and the iron-masked soldiers who rushed to the front became a live target because of their slow movements. The crossbowmen in the rear of the Yanbei army continued to throw, so that the Jiangnan infantry, which was blocked and gathered into a group, suffered great casualties.

Where has Fu Zuci seen this kind of formation, he used to fight with Dufeng, and he only needed to scatter the enemy's army and pursue it. The battle with Lu Boding was not hindered in any way. Fu Zuci believed that with well-equipped infantry, victory would come as long as it was necessary to break up the Yanbei army. But now it was attacked by the Yanbei army, infantry and cavalry, and the whole army attacked as a prelude to failure.

Fu Zuci hurriedly ordered the soldiers to retreat, but the Iron Mask Army wearing foot armor moved slowly, and the end of the entire army was inevitable. And Gu Chayi's horse team clung to it, making it difficult for the soldiers in Jiangnan to regroup in one place.

Fu Zuci had no choice but to withdraw with the army in the direction of Suicheng, wanting to rely on the strong walls of Suicheng to resist for a while, waiting for Fan Kuyi's reinforcements to arrive.

But when Fu Zuci came to Suicheng, the gate of Suicheng really couldn't be opened.

"What do you mean by that? Wei Zeng's army is about to be killed, so don't hurry up and open the door and let us in. As long as he resists for a while, Lord Fan personally leads the reinforcements to arrive, and he will definitely be able to defeat Wei Zeng. Fu Zuci came to the city wall and shouted.

"Now that the enemy is attacking, and the rich man leads the army to meet the battle, how can he be defeated by the enemy with the ability of the rich man? I see that you must have sent spies from your enemies to try to open our gates. The general defending the city said.

"I'm the rich man you call it, and you still don't open the door? You don't know me? Okay, let your Suicheng guard come out, he has seen me, and he will not admit his mistake. Fu Zuci said angrily.

The general defending the city looked to the side and saw a person lying under the female wall whispering, and this person was the chief of Suicheng.

"What a traitor, who dares to pretend to be a rich man, and wants to deceive our city lord and assassinate him. Brothers, I will kill this impostor, and when the real rich man returns victorious, he will surely reward us. The commander of the city replied loudly, and then ordered the soldiers to shoot arrows.

Seeing this, Fu Zuci had to retreat. Wei Zeng's army chased behind, Suicheng could not enter, Fu Zuci beat his chest, and had to flee to the south.

After Wei Zeng led the army to defeat the Jiangnan army led by Fu Zuci, he chased all the way to Suicheng. Without waiting for Wei Zeng to give the order to besiege the city, the gate of Suicheng had been opened, and the prefect of Suicheng came to Wei Zeng's army with civil and military officials.

When Wei Zeng came to the group, he saw an elderly man kneeling in the middle, his shirt had been stripped off, and he was carrying a wattle on his back. The thin body, shivering in the cold wind, looked extremely pitiful.

"You are the chief of Suicheng, what do you mean now?" Wei Zeng asked.

"It's really helpless for us to return to the Jiangnan people, and this time when we heard that the general was coming, we came out to greet us in person. However, the subordinate was really ashamed of the general, so he followed the example of the ancients and asked the general for guilt. The chief of Suicheng was so cold that his voice trembled, and he looked sincerely afraid.

"You said a few years ago that you would submit to our Yanbei, but you didn't surrender until today, is this also because of the persecution of the Jiangnan people?" Wei Zeng scoffed.

"In the troubled times, I was really afraid in my heart, although I wanted to submit to the general. But the generals have always been afraid and do not understand us. Now when I see the general, I know that the general is the kind-hearted man. I hope that the general must understand the plight of the subordinates. Governor Suicheng said.

"Forget it, I don't want to dig through any old accounts, you can put on your clothes. But you have to remember that since you have already belonged to my Yanbei, don't be half-hearted. If you don't worry about me, I don't worry about you! You can continue to be your Suicheng City Lord, but from now on, Suicheng will be defended by my Yanbei army. ”

The prefect of Suicheng was overjoyed when he heard that he could continue to be the lord of the city, and when he heard that the army of Yanbei was going to replace the Suicheng soldiers, his heart sank again. But he didn't dare to show it on his face, got dressed, and greeted Wei Jincheng with a smile. (To be continued.) )