However, when Guo Yan led more than 100,000 troops to the city of Zhengzhou, he was attacked by fierce artillery fire from the city tower. Shells rained down, destroying his army and inflicting heavy casualties.

Guo Yan was shocked, he didn't expect the defenders of Zhengzhou to be so tenacious.

He tried to fight back with the fifty guns in his hand, but because they were captured weapons, he was not proficient in using them.

Although some of the shells also landed on the walls, most of them landed outside the walls and did not pose much of a threat to the defenders.

Unable to capture Zhengzhou for a long time, Guo Yan had no choice but to order the withdrawal of troops. After he returned to the camp with the remnants of the defeated army, he was sneered at by Zhu Zhenhai.

Zhu Zhenhai sneered: "General Guo, I didn't expect you to have today!" Attacking Zhengzhou but returning in vain, what a shame! ”

Guo Yan was angry in his heart, but he said: "Victory and defeat are common things in soldiers, although today's battle failed to capture Zhengzhou, but it is not without gains." ”

Zhu Zhenhai said disdainfully: "Hmph! Do you still have the face to say the harvest? I think you're faceless and skinless! ”

Guo Yan knew that he couldn't tear his face with Zhu Zhenhai at this moment, he needed to stay calm and come up with a better strategy to deal with the next battle.

So, he held back his anger and said to Zhu Zhenhai: "General Zhu, I know that you are in a hurry to make meritorious contributions, but the fighter plane is not yet mature, and we need to wait patiently." ”

Zhu Zhenhai refused to give up: "Wait? How long will we have to wait? We can't afford to let the other armies get ahead of us! ”

At this moment, an adjutant general entered the camp and brought a piece of news.

"Report to the general, Jin Guowan Yan Zonghan has sent 100,000 troops south to capture Cizhou, they plan to join the rest of the four armies in Kaifeng on March 10, so they sent a letter, ordering our army to take Zhengzhou as soon as possible, and arrive in Kaifeng no later than March 10."

Guo Yan was shocked in his heart, he never expected that Yan Zonghan had already captured Cizhou! Now it's February 30, if it is delayed any longer, not only will it not be able to reach Kaifeng, but I am afraid that Zhengzhou will be difficult to fight.

Wanyan Zonghan's letter was like a sharp knife stuck in his heart, but the Zhengzhou City in front of him was like a stubborn stone, blocking his way. Although the army of Zhao Zhen, the king of letters, was only 150,000, they had those artillery pieces with amazing lethality, which made Guo Yan's army of 250,000 helpless.

"If you want to take Zhengzhou City, you must destroy the opponent's artillery." Guo Yan secretly calculated in his heart.

He summoned his henchmen and commanded in a low voice: "You infiltrate Zhengzhou City and find a way to destroy the artillery on those city walls." ”

The henchman took the order and left, but Guo Yan's heart was still uneasy. He knew that the success of this operation would have a direct bearing on the outcome of the entire battle.

When night fell, there was silence in the city of Zhengzhou. Guo Yan's henchmen infiltrated the city, carefully searching for the location of the artillery. However, just as he was about to succeed, he stumbled upon a secret that shocked him.

In a remote restaurant, he saw Zhu Zhenhai's henchman Xue Mang having secret contact with Zhao Zhen, the king of letters.

He held his breath and leaned against the window to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Three days later, Zhu Zhenhai lied to Guo Yan that King Xin was going to surrender," Xue Mang said in a low voice, "While Guo Yan led his army into the city, we joined forces to kill him." ”

Guo Yan's henchmen were shocked, he didn't care about the task of destroying the artillery, hurriedly and quietly withdrew from the restaurant, sneaked out of the city, and told Guo Yan this important news.

However, he didn't know that all this was actually a trap set by Xue Mang and Zhao Zhen. Their purpose was to make Guo Yan suspicious of Zhu Zhenhai and provoke infighting between them.

When Guo Yan heard the news from his henchmen, his face instantly turned pale. He had long suspected that Zhu Zhenhai's motives for surrendering to the imperial court were impure, and now it seems that this speculation has come true.

"This Zhu Zhenhai actually wants to take my head to join Her Royal Highness the princess again!" Guo Yan gritted his teeth and said, "It's really hateful! ”

His heart was full of anger and murderous intent, and he decided to take advantage of Zhu Zhenhai's unpreparedness to kill him.

However, he didn't know that Xue Mang had already blown the wind in Zhu Zhenhai's ears and told Zhu Zhenhai that Guo Yan suspected him and wanted to kill him tonight.

When Zhu Zhenhai heard the news, he was also furious. He rushed directly to Guo Yan's camp with a knife and asked loudly, "Guo Yan! Why are you killing me?! ”

Guo Yan saw Zhu Zhenhai rushing in with a knife, and he was also puzzled. He thought to himself, "How did he know in advance?" But he said quietly: "General Zhu said with a smile, when did I say that I wanted to kill you?" ”

Zhu Zhenhai's eyes widened angrily and roared: "Don't pretend to be garlic!" You sent someone into Zhengzhou City, communicated privately with King Xin, and tried in vain to take my head to invite merit, and use this as a condition to join Her Royal Highness the Princess, yes or no? ”

"General Zhu, you calm down first." Guo Yan spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the silent tent, "There must be something strange about this matter, we can't fall for someone else's divisive scheme." ”

Zhu Zhenhai's originally angry face showed some doubt, and he stared at Guo Yan with wide eyes, as if he was trying to digest these words.

Although he has a rude personality, he is not completely brainless.

He realized that if Guo Yan really wanted to be unfavorable to himself, he could tie himself up in front of the public and be disposed of by the imperial court, instead of choosing to get rid of himself in the middle of the night.

"You mean......" Zhu Zhenhai's voice trembled a little, he couldn't believe his ears, "Someone wants to separate us?" ”

Guo Yan nodded, a hint of sharpness flashed in his eyes: "That's right, we must deal with it carefully." ”

At this moment, a loud bang suddenly sounded in the tent, which made the ear drums of the two people buzz. Zhu Zhenhai turned his head in shock, only to see a blood flower suddenly bloom on Guo Yan's chest, and his face instantly turned pale.

Guo ...... Checkmate! Zhu Zhenhai exclaimed, he stretched out his hand to support the fallen Guo Yan, but it was too late.

Guo Yan fell to the ground with a look of surprise and unwillingness, his eyes were still open, but he had lost the brilliance of life. Zhu Zhenhai stared at this scene blankly, his mind went blank.

Suddenly, he noticed the figure standing at the door of the tent—his henchman Xue Mang, holding a still smoking fire gun in his hand.

Zhu Zhenhai understood everything in an instant, his eyes widened, and his anger exploded quickly like a fire.

"Xue Mang! You...... Why are you doing this? Zhu Zhenhai roared angrily, he suddenly pulled out the knife at his waist and rushed towards Xue Mang, but he heard a bang again, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and then saw his own blood stain the ground under his feet.

Zhu Zhenhai waved his knife in disbelief and wanted to slash Xue Mang, but finally fell down.

Xue Mang put away the fire gun, sneered at the two corpses and said, "Zhu Zhenhai, do you think you can capture Zhengzhou by joining forces with Guo Yan?" It's ridiculous. His Royal Highness King Xin is just a little trick, so he let you kill each other, and if you want to deal with Her Royal Highness the princess, you don't have the ability to do so. ”