At Yang Hong's suggestion, Yuan Shu withdrew from Wancheng openly.

The marching guard of honor was dozens of times more turbulent than Liu Wei's serious emperor.

Yuan Shu even took all the concubines in his harem with him very affectionately, and the place where the team passed by was fragrant, as if the street had been cleaned by rouge gouache.

Some people envy this scene, and some people abuse it.

Zhang Xun, the general of Yuan Shu, was one of the people who abused him.

He said indignantly to the left and right, "I followed him, and I can be regarded as giving all my life in vain. What can the emperor accomplish in this way? I heard that the young emperor in the capital did not need any guard of honor when he traveled, so he ordered the guards to carry the Daxu and the Black Dragon Banner."

"But our emperor who has just raised an event is good, he travels like a forest of honors, and even brings the concubines of the three palaces and six courts, I can't see any majesty in this lineup, I just think it's ridiculous."

Zhang Xun could say what he could say, but he didn't dare to say anything.

"General, does Your Majesty mean that we want to defend Wancheng alone?" A lieutenant asked.

Zhang Xun sneered, "Do you still need to ask me about this? You should be busy with everything, and I'll make another decision on this matter!"

Even now, Zhang Xun is still wavering.

Although he was more inclined to submit to the imperial court, he was a little worried that he would be killed as an example.

He is a general crowned by Yuan Shu, and he can be described as a real minister in Nanyang.

Such an identity made him dare not easily return to the imperial court.

If he was just a small general and didn't have such a high status, he would definitely not have the slightest hesitation.

"Report!"

"General Qiyu, the vanguard of the Han army has arrived in Nieyang and is attacking the city, please send reinforcements as soon as possible."

Zhang Xun's head suddenly grew for a while.

Yuan Shu had just left on the front foot, and the imperial army on the back foot had already attacked Shunyang.

"Someone, send an order, let Shi Min lead an army of five thousand, and rush to help!" Zhang Xun immediately said, "Tell Shi Min and Wang Sheng that even if they fight to the last person, they must defend Nieyang to the death."

"Whoa!"

After Zhang Xun gave the order, he hurriedly led people back to Wancheng, dispatched soldiers and horses, and arranged the imperial guard.

It's just that the errands in his hands haven't been fully arranged, and there are scouts who hurriedly report it.

"General Qiyu, Nieyang has been broken, General Wang lost the first battle, lead his troops to surrender!"

Standing in front of the map and talking, Zhang Xun, who was strategizing, was stunned.

In less than two hours, Niryang is gone?

"Wang Sheng, this bastard, mistook me for a big deal!" Zhang Xun scolded angrily, and angrily flipped the table.

After venting his frenzy, Zhang Xun asked, "Who is the general of the imperial army?"

"General Hui, it's Zhang Ji!" The scout replied.

"How many soldiers are there?" Zhang Xun asked again.

"Back to the general, it should be less than 10,000." The scout replied.

Zhang Xun calmed down, paced around the hall twice with a calm face, and said, "Zhang Ji is the chief general of the imperial court's southward army, and he personally led his troops and horses to attack Nieyang, and this matter is fraudulent. It is said that the army of the imperial court to the south has 100,000 people, but now there are less than 10,000 soldiers and horses attacking Nieyang, where did the rest go?"

"Send a fast horse to order Shi Min, tell him not to go to Nieyang, and send his troops to find out the movements of the soldiers and horses in the south."

"Whoa!"

Zhang Xun looked at the flags planted with the map, and suddenly had a feeling that the mountain rain was coming.

The imperial army almost made it clear that the battle was a decisive battle.

"Report!"

A hurried shout came from outside the hall again.

Zhang Xun's heart throbbed, and now when he heard this voice, he felt uncomfortable.

"General Qiyu, General Shi Min encountered the imperial court general Zhang He, and was beheaded in three rounds of hard fighting, and our army was defeated!"

Zhang Xun was so irritable that he was a little at a loss, and scolded, "After three rounds of fighting, he seems to have fought a tough battle!"

Three rounds, isn't it

Didn't you rush up and be hacked to death?

"How many soldiers and horses are there in the Niyang area?" Zhang Xun asked.

Sima Liangchen immediately stepped forward and said, "Now only General Li Feng is left all the way to Jianyang!"

Zhang Xun clenched his fists twice and said, "Order, let Li Feng stop defending Jianyang, move his troops north, and set up camp outside Wan County."

"Whoa!"

Liang Chen persuaded: "General, Li Feng, Liang Gang, and Le Gang have always been very respectful of generals, do you need to be wary at this time? If it is not to increase the morale of others and destroy the prestige of our army, it is really that there is not much chance of victory in this battle."

"If Li Feng and Liang Gang defect to the imperial court, the general's situation will be very unfavorable!"

Zhang Xun waved his hand and said, "What else do you need to be careful about now? The imperial court attacked from the north and south, and the momentum came violently. I'm busy with the war, I don't know what kind of intrigue and tricks are I doing? Li Feng and Liang Gang are also people who know the general situation, and they should know that if we are united, there may be a glimmer of hope."

"If you engage in a fight in the nest now, you will definitely die, and you don't have to say these words again.".

Liang Chen clenched his fists and retreated to the side, "Oh, it's a gaffe."

"Go up to the wall and keep an eye on it, I'll be quiet." Zhang Xun said with a headache, "I'm upset when I hear the scout's voice now."

Liang Chen smiled bitterly, how could he not be like this.

Perhaps perhaps because of the sincerity of the heart, the two distraught men did not receive any more reports from the scouts for the rest of the day.

Sometimes they are upset, but when they are gone, they are even more upset.

After sleeping for a while, I felt that Zhang Xun was more and more unsteady the more I sat in my heart.

He ordered his own soldiers, climbed the city wall himself, found Liang Chen and asked, "No news from the scouts?"

Liang Chen shook his head.

He was also puzzled to himself, in the morning, the news came in full swing, and he could not stop for almost a moment.

But in the afternoon, there was no news.

Zhang Xun looked at the bursts of cooking smoke rising from the mountains outside the city, and said with a solemn face, "Something is not quite right in this matter!"

Liang Chen smiled and comforted, "Although it is indeed a bit unreasonable, the imperial army should not be able to kill all the scouts of our army, and the general does not need to be so worried."

Zhang Xun sighed, "Nothing is impossible. I don't think it's possible for the imperial court to break through Nieyang so quickly, but Nieyang held out for less than half a day, and even the reinforcements I sent were folded halfway. Where did they go in half a day?"

"Do you know what I'm thinking about the mountains outside the city right now? I think there is a large army of the imperial court hidden in the middle of each of these mountains, and it is very likely that this is still a fact."

"We all ignored this problem before, Shi Min should have met Zhang He less than a hundred miles away from Wan County."

Liang Chen's face changed suddenly, "Does the general mean that the court's rangers have arrived near Wanxian County?"

"No need to doubt anything, it's almost inevitable." Zhang Xun said, "So do you still think that the imperial army should not block all of our scouts from Wanxian? As long as they cast a wide enough net, it's very likely."

"Looks like I'm right!" Zhang Xun suddenly pointed to the mountain col in the north and said.

Liang Chen hurriedly looked in the direction Zhang Xun was pointing.

暮色下，远山如黛，薄薄的云雾像是匹练缠绕在山巅。

Although it is not enough to see completely, there are faint signs of troop activity.

Moreover, there is the constant clatter of trees falling to the ground.

"It seems that Zhang Ji gave me a little respect, and did not directly lead troops to besiege the city." Zhang Xun said self-deprecatingly.

"That direction leads to Xi'e, and they are guarding against Liang Gang leading his army south!" Liang Chen exclaimed.

The things he was worried about finally saw a hint of results, and Zhang Xun calmed down.

He said lightly, "They cut down trees for nothing more than to build beacons and siege machines. Looking at this situation, it should be the first one, building beacons and creating passes. seemingly

, we need to change the tactics set by His Majesty, and quickly send fast horses north, so that Liang Gang can lead his army south before the imperial army surrounds Wancheng."

"Xi'e is sandwiched between Bowang and Wancheng, if the imperial army completes the encirclement of Wancheng, Liang Gang may not even have a place to escape, for today's plan, we can only defend Wancheng This way can go."

"There is plenty of food and grass in the city, if we can drag down the imperial army, we will have a slight chance of victory, otherwise, there is no hope!"

Zhang Xun's words made Liang Chen finally have a backbone, and his heart was a little fixed.

He complained, "Your Majesty should have handed over the military power to the general earlier, even if it was a little earlier, we wouldn't be so in a hurry, and Niryang shouldn't have been lost so quickly."

"Don't blame Your Majesty, blame me for not being proportionate for a while." Zhang Xun said, "Send someone to give the order as soon as possible."

"Whoa!" Liang Chen replied with a complicated expression.