“…… General, the urgent report of the Imperial Military Department has arrived. ”

I don't know how long it took, Wei Mingyuan's voice sounded outside the tent.

Feng Qingyun, who was sitting on the ground in a daze, finally came back to his senses, and said in a hoarse voice: "Take it in." ”

A few seconds later, Wei Mingyuan came in, only to see the general sitting on the ground with his hair disheveled and disheveled, his face like ashes, like a death row prisoner waiting for the autumn queen to behead, how could he still have the demeanor of the commander of the whole army who was full of spirit and power?

Since he led the army to the expedition, the righteous son of Lord Shoufu has not had any commendable performance, and now the grain and grass have been burned, which has buried all the hope in his heart.

Whether you want to admit it or not, this time the counterinsurgency battle in Jingzhou is a complete failure, and even if Feng Qingyun, who lost his teacher and humiliated the country, is not dismissed from his post and imprisoned for questioning, there will be no turning point in his career in the future. Lord Shoufu has recognized more than a dozen righteous sons, but he is not inferior to such an incompetent guy.

With a sigh in his heart, he continued to speak: "General, the matter has come to this, please take care of your health." Tens of thousands of soldiers in the whole army are still counting on you! ”

Feng Qingyun showed a smile that was more ugly than crying: "I, a general, I'm afraid I won't be able to be a few days old." I knew that this Zhao Yi was so difficult, I shouldn't have taken this errand in the first place. Now, how can I go back to my father? ”

"No, General, things are still turning around."

Wei Mingyuan hurriedly said: "The Ministry of War, in view of Wu Zhence's great difficulty in controlling, the thief army has seriously threatened Jinling, and recently he intends to establish himself as the king. Therefore, the imperial court decided to let the armies from all walks of life in the south immediately set off to the Huaiyang area, and joined forces to encircle and suppress Wu Wei. ”

"The remaining grain and grass in the camp can last for a day or two, as long as we immediately set off after dawn to withdraw our troops and retreat to Lingwu County, which is three hundred miles away, and at the same time order the leading army of the county guard over there to carry grain and grass to meet halfway, these tens of thousands of troops can guarantee that there will be no loss."

Feng Qingyun looked slightly stunned, thinking about it carefully, he felt that this move was feasible, and his face finally improved.

This order of the military department is indeed too timely, as long as he is not confined to Jingzhou and choke Zhao Yuanjin, things will take a turn for the better, and the previous defeats can try to cover up the past.

"Okay, tell the whole army to prepare to evacuate, and leave as soon as it is dawn, I don't want to stay in this damn place any longer." Feng Qingyun sighed.

It's no wonder that he is so jealous, this Zhao Yuanjin's performance is really too evil, obviously he looks like he is just a small prince, and his strength is too weak to be mentioned. But he won many battles and suppressed the imperial army without temper.

As soon as the sky was dark, the camp was lively.

Under the constant urging of the officers, tens of thousands of soldiers had breakfast and set out for the camp, and some ordnance materials that were too cumbersome and difficult to transport were all discarded and left uncarried.

And before leaving, in order to prevent Zhao Yuanjin from leading his troops to pursue, Feng Qingyun also ordered to leave 5,000 soldiers and horses to be responsible for the broken rear. Of course, they were all people who didn't quite walk the same way as him.

When the sky was bright, he learned the news of the retreat of the imperial army, and Zhao Yuanjin really led the army out of the county to see if there was a chance to pick up some cheap.

Standing in the position of this Jiedu envoy, the imperial army suffered such a big loss and then hurriedly withdrew, and pursued by itself, even if it couldn't swallow all the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in one go, it had to bite a large piece of meat from the other party.

As a result, someone soon announced: "Great marshal, the court army on the opposite side sent a messenger to ask for a meeting, saying that he wanted to surrender." ”

Zhao Yuanjin was a little surprised, but he still agreed to summon him.

"We are willing to descend, and we hope that the festival will make the adults take us in regardless of their previous suspicions."

The envoy was a young guard, and he didn't talk nonsense after meeting and saluting, and explained his intention straight to the point.

Zhao Yuanjin said strangely: "The gap between the forces between you and me is not big, why are you willing to surrender without using a knife and a shot?" ”

"The general of our family is not the descendant of the old thief, and he doesn't want to greet that incompetent Feng Qingyun, so that bastard thing makes things difficult for us everywhere. This time, we were ordered to stay, and we didn't leave any grain or grass, which was clearly to send the brothers to death! Who would want to give him his life? The strong-blooded guard general said angrily.

Zhao Yuanjin bowed slightly: "Since that's the case, okay, I accept your contribution." ”

So the 5,000 imperial army changed its flag and joined Zhao Yuanjin's team, and after being dispersed, it was mixed into various battalions, and the officers above the guard general would be temporarily isolated and managed.

This is a necessary precautionary measure, although Zhao Yuanjin believes that they surrender sincerely, what should be done cannot be saved. Only after a period of time has passed and confirmed that there are no problems will it be truly trusted and reused.

"Lord, there are still more than 20,000 people under Feng Qingyun's command, should we continue to pursue?" Song Wu asked.

Zhao Yuanjin muttered and did not speak, and Sun Xiangqing next to him said with a smile: "Originally, it was okay to pursue, but now it seems that it is better to leave him a way out." ”

Su Mu echoed: "That's right, Wu Zhence is getting stronger and stronger, and if these 20,000 elites of the Beijing camp are put over there, they can create more trouble for him." It is best that he can fight with the imperial army to defeat both sides, and it is the safest and most advantageous way for us to take the opportunity to develop in Jingzhou. ”

Through the inquiry of the generals, the latest intention of the imperial cabinet is no secret, and the armies of all walks of life in the south have gathered in the Huaiyang area one after another, preparing to work together to encircle and suppress Wu Zhence. Now the troops in the state capitals are estimated to have received orders to set off.

This kind of analysis is reasonable, and all the generals have no objections, Zhao Yuan smiled and made a final decision: "Okay, let the whole army rest for ten days, and then march to Shangyang County." ”

"Now that the external troubles are gone, the great cause of the lord can be expected!" Sun Xiangqing sighed.

Now that Zhao Yuanjin has far more power at hand than in the past, and there is no imperial army to watch, there is basically no strong enemy in Jingzhou, so he can let go and expand.

Although the imperial court is declining day by day, there are still more than 100,000 troops in the south combined, as long as the troops are combined, the pressure on Wu Zhence can be imagined. Even if this guy really has the appearance of a hidden dragon, it is not ordinarily difficult to solve this dead end.

Therefore, in the next six months to a year, it is a rare "strategic opportunity period" for Zhao Yuanjin. As long as you make good use of this time difference to develop and grow, and seize as much territory as possible, you will have the capital to compete in the world.

Of course, if the development is not satisfactory, when Wu Zhence is destroyed in the future, the next target of the imperial court's encirclement and suppression will undoubtedly be Zhao Yuanjin. Or if the imperial army is defeated, Wu Zhence is completely big, and after establishing himself as king, he will take advantage of the situation to unify the south, and Zhao Yuanjin's ending will still not change.