Chapter 36: Palace Deserter
"What's the situation on the top of the city?" After standing at a safe distance and looking at the royal city, Ye Mingsheng asked Wang Xian beside him:

"Reporting to the commander, an hour ago, there were some movements of the palace troops on the top of the city. Apart from that, there were no other unusual movements." Wang Xian said without hesitation:
Ye Mingsheng, who did not feel anything unusual, nodded and began to inspect the defense areas of the South Gate and the West Gate. However, to his surprise, Gao Zuorong, Lin Huaiwu, and Wang Xian, who were guarding the two gates, all reported the same situation to him - an hour ago, the Red Tiger Army wearing red armor on the city wall first withdrew some of its troops and then returned.

Although this kind of transfer seems normal, Ye Mingsheng always feels it is a little strange, as if something is wrong that he can't explain.

However, just as he was thinking hard about what was wrong, his soldiers suddenly came to report that a group of palace troops had appeared outside Liujing City to provide support. Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng's heart sank and he hurried to the east gate.

Although Ye Mingsheng had already prepared for the counterattack of the Gongdu army that came to support when he was formulating the surprise attack on Liujing, the counterattack of the Gongdu army was much faster than he had imagined.

After Ye Mingsheng arrived at the east gate of Liudong, he found that Chen Yannian and Liu Shilin had already arrived at the east gate before him.

Standing on the top of the city wall, although the distance was a bit far and Ye Mingsheng could not see clearly, he could vaguely see that the palace army under the city was about eight hundred to one thousand people in size. Judging from the words on the flags, they should be the garrison troops of the prefectures and counties around Liujing.

Although they were flying the flag of the palace army, the weapons and equipment of this army, whether it was the generals riding on tall horses or the ordinary soldiers, were very simple. Only a few generals wore armor, and the ordinary soldiers could not even have a weapon.

The entire army looked tattered and was not much better than those bandits who had become bandits in the mountains.

After taking a look at the group of people under the city, Ye Mingsheng made up his mind. He turned to Liu Shilin and Chen Yannian and said, "Go out of the city to fight and defeat them!"

Regarding Ye Mingsheng's order, Liu Shilin and Chen Yannian looked at each other, seemingly having some disagreements, but they didn't know how to talk to Ye Mingsheng.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said, "I know that our forces are tight right now. We should avoid unnecessary casualties and hold the city tightly while waiting for reinforcements!"

"But the problem now is that with this group of people outside the city, once the palace troops in the royal city break out, we will face a situation where we are attacked from both sides. Although these people are poorly equipped, there are thousands of them after all. If they join forces with the palace troops in the royal city, we will be in trouble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yannian and Liu Shilin suddenly realized what was going on, and their expressions immediately became serious. After Chen Yannian bowed deeply to Ye Mingsheng, he immediately walked down from the top of the city wall and led his subordinates out of the city to fight.

Although there were only about 800 soldiers under Chen Yannian, which was less than the palace troops under the city, it was more than enough to face the palace troops who were not much stronger than bandits. Under Chen Yannian's command, the two sides only had a few encounters before the enemy's formation was broken up, and the rest was just a surprise attack.

Although the battle situation below the city was very good, Ye Mingsheng, who was standing on the top of Liujing City, still had a solemn expression on his face. Suddenly he asked, "Has Lord Xu already started the action?"

Liu Shilin was a little hesitant when he heard this, but he still replied: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be like this!"

As his answer appeared, the Gongdu army under the city was completely defeated by the Zhou army and began to flee in all directions. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head without comment, then turned around and walked down from the top of the city. ·············
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The moonlight is bright in the dead of night, and the dark sky is filled with stars. They blink mischievously, adding a touch of liveliness to this solemn night.

Ye Mingsheng, who was at the front line, was not in the mood to appreciate such a beautiful night view. He pursed his lips and looked at the royal city in front of him with a serious expression.

Standing here, feeling the silence in the royal city, the suspicion entangled in his heart was growing wildly...

After gathering the remnants of the army last night, there should be at least two thousand people in the royal city. The food and water for these people and horses must be consumed. According to Ye Mingsheng's estimation, the people inside can only hold out for one to two days at most. Therefore, even if the food and water in the royal city have not been consumed yet, the city should not be so quiet.

As the saying goes, "When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong."

Ye Mingsheng felt that something must have happened in this royal city that he didn't know about!
But what could this be?

Ye Mingsheng, who had been thinking about this problem but to no avail, became eager to organize a wave of troops to launch a tentative siege to test the city's strength.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was a little confused, there was suddenly some noise in front of the camp, as if someone was caught. Ye Mingsheng, who was awakened, frowned slightly and whispered, "Go see what happened!"

Ye Tie, who received the order, walked over immediately. A moment later, he escorted a man who was tied up and dressed in the uniform of a Gongdu soldier and reported: "Master, we caught a Gongdu deserter who sneaked down from the city wall!"

Ye Mingsheng, who was wondering what happened in the royal city, heard Ye Tie's introduction, his eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly asked:

"What's the situation in the royal city?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's questions, the captured Gongdu deserter lowered his head cowardly and did not dare to look Ye Mingsheng in the eye, but he clenched his teeth and did not say a word.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng's eyes immediately became fierce. Ye Tie, who knew his intention, immediately punched the deserter in the face. The deserter screamed in pain, his nose broke and blood flowed.

Hearing the man's screams, Ye Tie did not stop. On the contrary, he hit him even harder. His fists as big as sandbags hit the man's body like raindrops, making the guy scream in pain.

Seeing the eyes of the Gongdu deserter filled with fear and pain, Ye Mingsheng coughed lightly. Ye Tie immediately stopped beating him and began interrogating him. This time the deserter finally behaved himself and stopped pretending to be tough. He groaned in pain and answered the questions honestly.

(End of this chapter)