Chapter 383: Defeat before the Battle! (Thanks to book friends Ye Yimei Dare not sleep and Halley's Comet for the reward!)
In the main camp of the Zhenwu Army in Dongning Prefecture, Wang Muzhi and several other key military officers of the Imperial Guards gathered together to discuss countermeasures.
Zhu Chenjie, who was sitting to the left of Wang Mu, said angrily:
"This bastard Yuan Song is really a tough nut to crack. How come I never heard of such a figure in the Longxiong Army back then?"

Xue Heping, who was tall and strong opposite Zhu Chenjie, couldn't help but said in a deep voice:
"This Yuan Song was originally a subordinate of Shang Haibo of the Longxiang Army. Later, he was excluded by Shang Haibo due to some reasons, so he resigned in anger and was recruited by Ye Mingsheng. In his early years, he followed Shang Haibo to fight east and west, and fought many tough and big battles. It is not surprising that he can perform like this now because of his rich experience..."

Listening to Xue Heping's introduction, Zhu Chenjie felt even more depressed, and started cursing and greeting Yuan Song's female relatives again.

Now, two days have passed since they attacked Yuan Song's troops. After paying the price of thousands of lives, the Zhenwu Army destroyed all the defensive fortifications of the camp and filled up three trenches. They then attacked the Fengzhou Army's camp several times.

Every time when they thought victory was in sight, the Fengzhou Army under the command of Yuan Song was always able to burst out with new energy to drive out the Zhenwu Army. In the most dangerous times, Yuan Song even personally led the guards to rush to the front line and fight bloody battles, making it difficult for the Zhenwu Army to cross the line!
However, the fact that the camp has not been breached does not mean that Yuan Song's troops are in good situation. Under the fierce attack of the main force of the Zhenwu Army regardless of casualties, Yuan Song's troops huddled in the camp not only suffered heavy casualties and nearly half of their troops were lost, but even their ammunition and medicines have run out. Now all the grenades and artillery shells in their hands have been used up.

Among the firearms equipped by Yuan Song's troops, only a small number of Weiyuan guns and Polu guns can continue to play a role. If reinforcements do not arrive, Yuan Song will not have much time left before his entire army is wiped out...
Just as Wang Muzhi, Zhu Chenjie, Xue Heping and other generals were discussing how to break through the camp guarded by Yuan Song, the guard walked into the camp and bowed to report:

"General, Commander Lu Nan is back!"

Upon hearing the news, Wang Muzhi and the others were all excited, with a hint of anticipation in their eyes. Wang Muzhi immediately said:
"Let him in quickly!"

"Yes!"

Under Wang Muzhi's order, a burly, balding middle-aged man walked into the central military tent.

,

This sturdy man is named Lu Nan. He is a commander under Wang Muzhi and a member of the Imperial Guards. However, unlike Zhu Chenjie and Xue Heping, he is not a direct subordinate of Wang Muzhi. He followed Wang Muzhi in Luoan and served in the Shenwu Army.

He used to serve in the Longxiang Army. When the Zhenwu Army was established, he was transferred into the Zhenwu Army. Originally, he was not noticeable under Wang Muzhi. He was just an ordinary commander leading a few thousand troops. But this time, because of Yuan Song, Lu Nan came into Wang Muzhi's sight.

Although the siege of Yuan Song’s camp by the Zhenwu Army in the past two days caused heavy casualties among Yuan Song’s Fengzhou Army, the casualties of the Zhenwu Army were not much less...

Seeing that the attack failed and facing the bloody casualties, Wang Muzhi was hesitant, so he wanted to find another way and see if he could send people into the Fengzhou military camp to persuade Yuan Song to surrender, hoping to make Yuan Song realize their current critical situation and turn to the light.

Although I want to persuade Yuan Song to surrender, who to send is a problem!
Wang Muzhi only wanted to be a pure military general who followed the orders of the Prime Minister. Unlike other generals, he did not like to recruit staff and advisers. He only interacted with military generals like Zhu Chenjie, Xue Heping, and Qin Guang. These people had no problem leading troops to fight, as they were all experienced fighters. However, if you asked them to be lobbyists and do technical work such as persuading surrender, they did not have the ability.

Moreover, although there has been an unspoken rule since ancient times that two armies should not kill envoys when fighting, there have always been many people who do not abide by this rule. There are also many people who kill envoys to vent their anger and boost morale. Therefore, the job of persuading surrender is also very risky. No one knows what Yuan Song will do or whether he will abide by the rules...

Therefore, Wang Muzhi thought about it and finally decided to send Lu Nan to persuade them to surrender!
Although Lu Nan was a big and strong man and had never done any work of persuading people to surrender, he, like Yuan Song, had served in the Longxiang Army and had been a colleague for several years. Although their private relationship was not very good, they had drunk together several times and had become brothers. They were considered to be each other's drinking buddies. With such a relationship between them, he was relatively easier to talk to than others.

And the most important point is that Lu Nan is an ordinary person in the Zhenwu Army. One more or one less of him will not make much difference. Even if Yuan Song kills him, the Zhenwu Army will not suffer any big loss.

Therefore, under Wang Muzhi's order, although Lu Nan was somewhat reluctant, he had to act as a lobbyist and go to the Fengzhou army to persuade Yuan Song to surrender.

As soon as Lu Nan came in, Wang Muzhi, who was full of hope, couldn't wait to ask him:

"What did Yuan Song say?"

Hearing Wang Muzhi's question, Lu Nan bowed his hands in shame and said:

"General, I have failed in my mission..."

"After I entered the Fengzhou military camp, the thief Yuan didn't even see me. He just sent a lieutenant general to tell me that Ye Mingsheng had been very kind to him and that he, Yuan Song, had no way to repay him. He could only serve the country until his death. He told me not to say anything more, or else he would chop off my head and hang it on the gate of the camp. Then he drove me out!"

"That's right! The thief Yuan also said that if you have any tricks, General, just use them! Even if his entire army is annihilated, we will still break the teeth of our Zhenwu Army!"

As soon as Lu Nan finished speaking, all the generals in the tent were furious and shouted:

"How dare Yuan Song, this old dog, do this?"

"Yuan Song, this villain, has gone too far in bullying me!"

"Please give me 10,000 soldiers and horses. I will destroy the enemy camp and capture Yuan Song alive and present him to you!"

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Compared to the indignation of his generals, Wang Muzhi, as the commander-in-chief, felt some emotion in his heart at this time. He had some contacts with Ye Mingsheng, but he had always had a bad impression of Ye Mingsheng. He always thought that Ye Mingsheng was a villain who fawned on the powerful and changed his attitude according to the wind. He never expected that such a person would have a loyal and righteous man like Yuan Song who was willing to die for him.

Although he had some respect for Yuan Song in his heart, Wang Muzhi would not show any mercy and immediately began to make arrangements.

"Since Yuan Song has chosen to resist to the end, let's send him off!" "Zhu Chenjie, your troops will attack from the east, Xue Heping, your troops will attack from the east, Qin Guang, your troops will attack from the front, and we must attack from all three directions to capture the Fengzhou military camp and kill Yuan Song. I will use Yuan Song's head to teach Ye Mingsheng a lesson!" Wang Muzhi waved his hand, full of pride and confidence, and said:

Before Wang Muzhi finished speaking, just as the generals were excitedly accepting the order, suddenly a personal soldier walked into the tent and whispered a few words in Wang Muzhi's ear. Although the generals did not know what the personal soldier said to Wang Muzhi, they saw with their own eyes that after hearing what the personal soldier said, Wang Muzhi's face changed suddenly...

Under the gazes of the generals, Wang Muzhi's heart was trembling. Although he wanted to block the news for the sake of military morale, it was obviously too late. It wouldn't take long for the news to spread throughout the military camp!

With a sigh in his heart, Wang Muzhi waved his hand and said:
"Bring people in!"

"Yes!" The personal guards took the order and left.

A moment later, a soldier with a bloody face was brought into the tent. Just as everyone was staring at the soldier with curious eyes, trying to understand why Wang Muzhi let him in, the soldier fell to his knees on the ground with a plop and cried to Wang Muzhi:

"Sir, yesterday Sun Cheng rebelled against Huang Linling in front of the enemy, but was defeated by the Fengzhou army, and General Huang was killed in the battle!
"My lord, you have to make the decision for us..."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked, and then everyone angrily cursed Sun Cheng's relatives, using all kinds of dirty words.

Although Wang Muzhi was also very angry, he did not vent his emotions like his generals. He knew that doing so would not solve any problems.
In his original plan, 5,000 defenders plus the geographical advantage of Huanglinling would be enough to buy them enough time to capture Yuan Song's troops.

But now everything was disrupted by Sun Cheng's rebellion. After crossing Huanglinling, the Fengzhou Army was less than two hundred miles away from Dongning City. With the speed of the Fengzhou Army, this distance could be covered in one day and one night at the fastest. Minus the time it took for the soldier to come back and report the news, this meant that the Fengzhou Army could reach Dongning City within three hours at the fastest!

Can they capture Yuan Song’s camp within three hours?
Wang Muzhi answered yes!

But unfortunately he can't do that············

Compared with the fact that Sun Cheng betrayed his team in front of the enemy, Wang Muzhi paid more attention to the meaning behind this incident!
Sun Cheng is a member of the Liaoyang local faction in the Zhenwu Army. Since he could be turned against by the Fengzhou Army, other local generals like Zhu Lin and Fang Dawei might also be turned against. Especially now that the Zhenwu Army is at a disadvantage in the war with the Fengzhou Army, their betrayal and defection is a high probability event!
Therefore, in Wang Muzhi's view, Sun Cheng's rebellion on the battlefield might be a signal, indicating that the Liaoyang local faction in the Zhenwu Army has decided to betray the Zhenwu Army and surrender to Ye Mingsheng's Fengzhou Army!

And if this is the case, then it can be declared that the defeat of the Zhenwu Army is a foregone conclusion. Even if he can completely wipe out Yuan Song's troops, which are already at the end of their strength, in the next three hours, he will be powerless to fight against Ye Mingsheng's army without the support of the local faction.

Thinking of this, Wang Muzhi couldn't help but sigh again. He had put in countless efforts and hard work to win a chance to fight Ye Mingsheng. However, the funny thing was that now he got the opportunity he had dreamed of, but he was destined to lose the war before it even started...
At this moment, there was a noise outside the tent. Just when Wang Muzhi was unhappy and was about to ask what happened, Shen Jianzhong, wearing a gray robe and with a serious expression, broke into the tent.
All the generals were somewhat surprised by Shen Jianzhong's sudden arrival. However, the first thing Shen Jianzhong did upon entering the tent was to speak to Zhu Chenjie, Xue Heping and other generals:

"Please step aside, generals. I have something important to discuss with Lord Wang!"

After Shen Jianzhong's words came out, the generals did not leave obediently, but turned their eyes to Wang Muzhi. They were generals of the Zhenwu Army, not spies of the Supervisory Office, and Shen Jianzhong's words had no effect on them.

After thinking for a while, Wang Muzhi nodded, and the generals immediately left the tent one by one, leaving only Shen Jianzhong and Wang Muzhi in the tent.

Although he already had a premonition of what Shen Jianzhong would say, Wang Muzhi was still shocked when he heard Shen Jianzhong's words.

"General Wang, I suggest you get rid of all the local leaders in the army right now, and then run away with all the troops!" Looking at Wang Muzhi, Shen Jianzhong said in a serious tone, word by word:

Without waiting for Wang Muzhi to react, Shen Jianzhong continued:
"Under the Cui family's instigation, the Yun family, the Gongsun family, Zhu Lin, Fang Dawei, and other people from Liaoyang have all decided to turn against them..."

Shen Jianzhong's cold words broke the last glimmer of hope in Wang Muzhi's heart. He said bitterly:

"Run? Where can you run to? Ye Mingsheng's army will be here soon!"

"Yutai County!"

Shen Jianzhong gave a very straightforward answer to Wang Muzhi's question.

After saying this, Shen Jianzhong looked into Wang Muzhi's eyes and said very seriously:

"General Wang, please don't give up! The Prime Minister is waiting for us in Luoan!"

"Although our army has been defeated before the battle, we are not completely without a chance. The land route into the country is now blocked, but the Zhenwu Army can still go by water. While Ye Mingsheng's army has not arrived yet, you can lead the army to Sanyuan County immediately!"

“General, you can place an elite division in Sanyuan County and station brave generals to garrison and block the pursuing Fengzhou army. Then you can lead the main force from Sanyuan County to Yutai County. The garrison of Yutai County is empty and there will be no resistance. Finally, you can lead the main force to cross the Bohai Sea by boat to Dengzhou. Dengzhou General Zheng Lang is loyal to you, the Prime Minister. The Zhenwu Army can regroup in Dengzhou…”

"Although our army has been defeated in Liaoyang, as long as General Wang leads your troops into the pass and helps the Prime Minister stabilize the situation, our army will be able to return to Liaoyang sooner or later and take Ye Mingsheng's head!"

(End of this chapter)