Murong Jun and his courtiers soon arrived outside the south gate of Jicheng, and at this time, the forward soldiers and horses of Yan State had arrived not far from the city, and the main general Murong Ke and his main generals were all in the forward corps, and they were ready to enter Jicheng at any time.

"Report, general, the king and hundreds of ministers are outside the south gate, ready to welcome the general's return." A junior colonel rushed over from the city gate and reported to Murong Ketong.

Murong Ke and all the generals under his command were all surprised when they heard this, after all, they were generally defeated, Murong Jun did not hold the responsibility for the defeat, it was already very good, and he actually personally led hundreds of civil and military officials to greet them at the south gate, how could this not make them feel very surprised?

"Fourth brother, we obviously lost the battle, and even let my Great Yan Kingdom lose Dai County and Fanyang County, why did the second brother greet us in person?" Murong Ba looked at Murong Ke and said suspiciously.

"Yes! Generals, we, the generals of the defeated army, are not worth the king's treatment at all. A subordinate chimed in.

Obviously, all the generals felt that they were a little ashamed to accept Murong Jun's welcome, after all, they did not realize their desire to return triumphantly, and moreover, they also made the Great Yan Kingdom lose a large piece of land.

Murong Ke lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and said: "Generals, although we have not defeated the Jin army, we are still the elite division of the Great Yan Kingdom, and it is up to us to protect the Great Yan Kingdom in the future, so the generals must not be arrogant, as long as we have confidence, we can completely defeat the Jin army in the future and wash away the shame." After speaking, he looked at the generals under his command.

"General, the soldiers and horses of the Northern King of the Jin Army are getting stronger and stronger, do we really have any hope of winning in the future?" A subordinate general. Said skeptically.

"Yes! General, the main force of our army has been lost in this battle, which can be described as a great loss of vitality! Moreover, hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land in Dai County and Fanyang County have also been ceded, so does my Great Yan Kingdom really have a chance to make a comeback? "Another general. Said loudly.

Obviously, after this battle, the generals under Murong Ke have lost some confidence in defeating the soldiers and horses under Hua'an, after all, the gap in strength between the two sides is getting bigger and bigger, and they can't win at this time, and they want to turn the tables in the future. It's going to be more difficult.

When Murong Ke heard this, he couldn't help frowning, in fact, the confidence in his heart had gradually been eroded by the cruel reality, and he also felt that it would become more and more difficult to defeat the Jin army, not to mention that Xie Ai was a tiger general, just with Hua'an's increasing strength, it was a very huge oppression for them.

"Generals. No matter how strong the Jin army is, we must not lose faith. You have also seen that in the Yishui defense line, our army with inferior soldiers and horses can fully block hundreds of attacks of the Jin army for half a year, which is enough to show that the Jin army is not invincible. As long as we are confident, we can win the next fight, and of course, at this point, our task is to rest. The battle is a matter for the future, so you will hasten your march and go with the general to meet the king. Murong Ke said loudly, and accelerated his horse to the south gate of Jicheng.

"Driving and ......driving" Murong Ke's generals heard the order, and all of them rode their horses and accelerated towards the south gate of Jicheng.

Soon, Murong Ke and his generals rode their horses to the south gate of Jicheng, and stopped at a position a hundred steps away from Murong Jun, the king of Yan, and then jumped off their horses and walked quickly towards Murong Jun.

Seeing that Murong Ke and his subordinates had already galloped over, Murong Jun, the king of Yan, glanced at the ministers on the left and right, and motioned for them to step forward with him to greet Murong Ke and his party.

Murong Jun and the ministers under his command slowly stepped forward to meet him for more than a dozen steps, and then they met Murong Ke and his party.

"The last will come to the king." Murong Ke and his party immediately knelt on their knees and saluted Murong Jun.

Murong Jun hurriedly stepped forward to help Murong Ke up, and said softly: "Generals, get up!" ”

When Murong Ke and his subordinates heard this, they all stood up and looked up at Murong Jun.

"Brother Wang, we failed to complete the task of defeating the Jin army, but instead annihilated the main army, this is all the failure of the minister's command, and the minister's brother is ashamed of Brother Wang." Murong Ke clenched his fists and said.

"Brother Wang, our army failed to defeat the Jin army, and my brother is also responsible." Murong Ba also said.

When Murong Jun heard this, he waved his hand, and said: "Fourth brother, fifth brother, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and if you lose, you will be defeated!" Besides, it is an indisputable fact that the enemy army is stronger than ours, so how can you blame it? ”

"Thank you Brother Wang for your magnanimity, and my brother is ashamed." Murong Ke clenched his fists and said.

Murong Jun smiled and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this, let's go to the palace, and then, let's talk about it in detail slowly!" After speaking, he motioned for Murong Ke to get on the horse.

Seeing this, Murong Ke and his subordinates stepped on their war horses, followed behind Murong Jun, the king of Yan, and walked in the direction of the palace.

After entering the palace, Murong Jun hosted a banquet to entertain these generals who came down from the front line, and then summoned Murong Ke alone and talked with him in detail.

"Brother Wang summoned his younger brother alone, I don't know what is important?" Seeing that Murong Jun only summoned himself, Murong Ke asked softly.

Murong Jun sighed and said softly: "Fourth brother, after this battle, the treasury of my Great Yan Kingdom has been basically empty, so I have to cede Dai County and Fan Yang County, and negotiate peace with the Northern King!" However, even so, the more than 100,000 soldiers and horses withdrawn will also consume a lot of national strength, and I am afraid that the treasury will be difficult to support, and we need to continue to reduce the soldiers and horses to solve the urgent need! After speaking, he looked at Murong Ke.

When Murong Ke heard this, he hugged his fists and said: "What the second brother said is that at this time, the national strength of my Dayan Kingdom is weak, and it is time to reduce some soldiers and horses." ”

Obviously, Murong Ke was very supportive of Murong Jun's disarmament plan, and felt that this was the only good way to solve the emptiness of the Great Yan State's treasury.

When Murong Jun heard this, he paused, and said softly: "It's not a difficult thing to reduce the soldiers and horses, but I don't know how many soldiers and horses must be left before I can hold the water control defense line!" Although we have already negotiated peace with the Northern King, if all the soldiers and horses of our army are removed, the soldiers and horses under the command of the Northern King may not abide by the terms of the peace negotiation, and it is very likely that they will attack Jicheng, so I want to know how many soldiers and horses are needed at least to hold the water control defense line. ”

Obviously, Murong Jun did not trust Hua'an, and felt that once too many soldiers and horses were withdrawn, Jicheng would be attacked by Xie Ai's army.

Seeing that Murong Jun was so worried, Murong Ke lowered his head and pondered, he was also very uneasy about Xie Ai's army, and felt that Xie Ai's army might tear up the peace agreement at any time and launch an attack in the direction of Jicheng, for this reason, it was still necessary to leave a strong enough army and horses.

"Brother Wang, in the opinion of my ministers, at least 50,000 soldiers and horses must be left to ensure the safety of Jicheng, and then, when the situation in my Dayan Kingdom improves, I will gradually expand the soldiers and horses, but I don't know if the current state of the treasury can support the expenses of the 50,000 army." Murong Ke looked at Murong Jun and asked loudly.

When Murong Jun heard this, he nodded lightly, and said, "Even if the treasury is difficult, it is still possible to maintain 50,000 soldiers and horses in Jicheng, and it is a big deal to reduce the expenses of the palace." After saying that, he looked into the distance.

Obviously, Murong Jun's determination is still very strong, and in order to maintain 50,000 soldiers and horses, he would rather save the cost of the palace.

Seeing this, Murong Ke nodded and said, "Since the second brother has such determination, my Great Yan Kingdom will definitely be able to make a comeback." After saying that, he clenched his fists.

Murong Jun paused for a moment and said softly: "This time, our army failed to win, in addition to the fact that the overall strength of my Great Yan Kingdom is not as good as that of the Northern King, there are two important reasons, which this king did not expect in advance. ”

"Brother Wang, what are the two reasons?" Murong Ke asked curiously.

Murong Jun said: "First, this king did not expect that Yao Xiang, who had been in Qingzhou for many years, would be so vulnerable, and completely lose Qingzhou and retreat into Liaodong of my Great Yan Kingdom, thus causing Wang Wu's army to march into Liaodong, forming a two-sided attack on our Great Yan Kingdom, and second, that is, the King of the South has never sent troops, at the beginning, this king saw that the King of the South gradually transferred troops to the north of Jingzhou, and mistakenly thought that as long as the main force of our army went south, the main force under Yao Xiang would attack westward, as an echo, the army of the King of the South would also attack from the north of Jingzhou, Launched an attack in the direction of Luoyang City, but unexpectedly, the King of the South did not act according to the king's expectations at all, so that my Great Yan Kingdom alone could bear the pressure of the elite army under the command of the Northern King, so that my Great Yan Kingdom was at a great disadvantage, and it was not surprising that it failed. ”

Obviously, Murong Jun analyzed the root cause of the defeat of the Great Yan Kingdom very calmly, and found out the crux of the problem, and at the same time, there was also the meaning of repentance.

When Murong Ke heard this, he said: "What Brother Wang said is that the reason why my Great Yan Kingdom suffered such a defeat has a lot to do with Yao Xiang's rapid defeat and the indefinite move of the King of Nan. After speaking, his face was full of indignation and regret.

Murong Jun sighed deeply, looked at Murong Ke, and said with a straight face: "Fourth brother, you know the situation in the army best, and I will leave it to you about the reduction of soldiers and horses." ”

"Brother Wang, rest assured, this matter will be handed over to the minister, and the minister's brother will definitely complete the matter of reducing the soldiers and horses." Murong Ke said with a straight face.

Murong Jun nodded with satisfaction, and said: "The main force of soldiers and horses is still on the way, it is estimated that in two days, you can completely arrive in Jicheng, these two days, you have a good rest, and after three days, immediately start to reduce the soldiers and horses." ”

"Yes, Brother Wang." Murong Ke said with a straight face.

Afterwards, Murong Ke clenched his fists and said goodbye and returned to his mansion. (To be continued......)