Chapter 492 "Brotherly Friendship and Respect!"

A few days later, in an unknown ravine northwest of Yijing, Zhao Shuhao asked his subordinates with a tired face:
“Did the Fengwu Army catch up?”

In response to Zhao Shuhao's question, the equally exhausted subordinate shook his head and said:

"They shouldn't have caught up!"

Hearing his men say this, Zhao Shuhao breathed a sigh of relief and looked a little relaxed. After losing two thousand men in Songjiaji, he had originally wanted to disappear for a few days to get through the limelight and then find a way to complete the task assigned to him by Zhao Yong to shoot the cold men of the Fengwu Army.

However, they never expected that before they could disappear, they were soon targeted by the cavalry of the Fengwu Army. The battle with the Fengwu Army cavalry was within Zhao Shuhao's expectations. He had already found out before rushing to help that many of the cavalry generals of the Fengwu Army were latecomers, and were infantry generals who changed their careers to cavalry.

Guo Zhiping, the general who was best at cavalry combat in the Fengwu Army, was originally a bandit. This shows the level of the Fengwu Army's cavalry. However, Zhao Shuhao's men were the most elite cavalry of the Great Zhou, the Youyan Iron Cavalry. Therefore, facing the cavalry of the Fengwu Army, Zhao Shuhao was born with a sense of superiority. He regarded the cavalry units of the Fengwu Army as chickens and dogs, and he could defeat them with just a casual fight.

With this idea in mind, Zhao Shuhao wanted to lead his troops to fight, defeat the Fengwu cavalry that was chasing them, and avenge the blood feud of Songjiaji...

However, as soon as the two sides fought, Zhao Shuhao found that he was wrong. It was true that the newly formed Fengwu cavalry was not on the same level as the long-established and glorious Youyan Iron Cavalry in terms of riding and archery, horse breeds, and the purity of cavalry tactics. But they were not as bad as he imagined to be crushed by the Youyan Iron Cavalry.

In addition, in this pursuit of the Youyan cavalry, the Fengwu Army concentrated all the remaining cavalry from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd divisions, which totaled more than 5,000 people. After the battle of Songjiaji, Zhao Shuhao was left with only 3,000 men.

If it was simply three thousand against five thousand, Zhao Shuhao was confident that he could defeat the Fengwu cavalry, but the key to the problem was that the Fengwu Army was equipped with muskets that were convenient for shooting on horseback. The appearance of these muskets greatly made up for the gap between them and the Youyan Iron Cavalry in cavalry and archery. When supplemented by firearms such as grenades, it also caused great casualties to the Youyan Iron Cavalry.

Therefore, although compared with the Youyan Iron Cavalry, which had outstanding military achievements and was famous for its might, the Fengwu Army's cavalry was still a "new army", but because of its advantages in numbers and firearms, the Fengwu Army's cavalry fought on equal terms with the Youyan Iron Cavalry and did not lose the upper hand.

Not falling behind would mean danger for Zhao Shuhao. After all, in addition to the cavalry, the Fengwu Army also had tens of thousands of infantry near Yijing. Therefore, the Fengwu Army's cavalry did not need to defeat them, they only had to entangle them and then call on the infantry to encircle them...
Zhao Shuhao had no support, so whenever he was caught up by the Fengwu Army's cavalry, it meant that his men were forced to run away.

Faced with such a situation, Zhao Shuhao had thought about making changes. He tried to devour the Fengwu Army's cavalry by luring the enemy deep into his territory and using the tactic of encircling the two wings. However, the cavalry commander of the Fengwu Army on the opposite side was also very smart. He ate Zhao Shuhao's bait several times but refused to fall into the trap designed by Zhao Shuhao, which made Zhao Shuhao jump up and curse.

After several rounds, not only did he fail to defeat the enemy, but Zhao Shuhao's men lost more than a thousand men. Zhao Shuhao was helpless about this. The only thing that made him feel relieved was that although the battle was very difficult and not as easy as he had expected, according to his observation, the Fengwu Army seemed to have stopped attacking Yijing and concentrated all its efforts on dealing with them, so their sacrifice and efforts were still effective.

But before Zhao Shuhao could feel relieved for a while, his subordinates came running over in a panic and reported:

"Sir, the Fengwu Army is chasing us!"

Hearing this, Zhao Shuhao was shocked at first, and then he could not help but cursed:
"These Fengwu Army bastards have really good noses. They can follow us anywhere..."

After complaining, Zhao Shuhao could only helplessly call upon his men around him and let these Youyan cavalrymen with a glorious historical record start a new round of escape in the face of the Fengwu Army's cavalry.

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In the headquarters of the general of Zhuo County.

Zhao Yong was sitting opposite a handsome but pale young man, who was Zhao Jianwen, the second son of Zhao Fuqu, the governor of Youyan.

"Cousin, are you really going to send troops to rescue that bastard Zhao Jianan?" The young man took a sip of tea and asked Zhao Yong anxiously:
Facing the young man's question, Zhao Yong shook his head and said:
"I'm not saving Zhao Jianan, I'm saving Yi Jing!
"Ye Mingsheng's Fengwu Army is coming with great force. Yijing is the foundation of our Zhao family. If we lose Yijing, our Zhao family will be in danger of collapse!"

Zhao Jianwen nodded upon hearing this but still said with great regret:

“What you said is true, cousin. But it would be best if Ye Mingsheng, this wolf cub with eagle eyes and wolfish look, killed Zhao Jianan…”

After expressing his feelings, Zhao Jianwen seemed to have thought of something and said excitedly:
"That bastard Zhao Jianan actually dared to forge my father's warrant to ask you, my cousin, to send troops to help. When my father comes back, we will hand over the evidence. It will be enough to make him pay for it."

A few days ago, after Zhao Yong received Zhao Jianan's letter for help and Zhao Fuqu's order, he received another order from Zhao Fuqu. Feeling something was wrong, Zhao Yong compared the two and then carefully questioned the person who sent the letter. He realized the problem and saw through Zhao Jianan's trick.

Although Zhao Yong was willing to help Zhao Jianan for the sake of the Zhao family, this did not mean that Zhao Yong would forget the grievances between him and Zhao Jianan. He immediately handed the evidence to Zhao Jianwen, preparing to let Zhao Jianwen and Zhao Jianan have a good fight, while he himself sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight! Zhao Yong smiled when he heard Zhao Jianwen's words, picked up the teacup and took a sip, but a barely perceptible disdain flashed in his eyes. The Zhao family was now at a critical moment of life and death, and Zhao Jianwen was still thinking about how to fight internally and how to get rid of his brother. What a complete idiot!
Although Zhao Jianwen has some literary talent, he is just full of empty talk about love and romance. Every day he either eats, drinks and has fun, or he accepts all the young girls and wives who come to him. If he was not the son of Zhao Fuqu, he would have been killed many times. If it was not for the purpose of dealing with Zhao Jianan, Zhao Yong would not cooperate with such a person who only knows how to talk big.

But it's good for a idiot like Zhao Jianwen to take the top position, so that I can continue to grow bigger and stronger...

Although Zhao Yong is loyal to his uncle Zhao Fuqu, it does not mean that he will be equally loyal to Zhao Fuqu's two sons. They all have the surname Zhao. I, Zhao Yong, have put in so much effort to make the Zhao family what it is today. I have taken so many risks and blocked so many arrows. Why can you be the governor of Youyan, but I, Zhao Yong, can't?
Although he had his own calculations in mind, seeing Zhao Jianwen so eager to stab Zhao Jianan in the back, Zhao Yong couldn't help but open his mouth to advise:

"Ye Mingsheng's troops are approaching, Brother Wen, please don't tell anyone about this for now. Now that our Zhao family is at the critical moment of life and death, we must unite! After we drive Ye Mingsheng away, it won't be too late for you to deal with Zhao Jianan. The evidence is in your hands now. You can easily control Zhao Jianan, right?"

Listening to Zhao Yong's admonition, Zhao Jianwen seemed a little unhappy. Although Zhao Jianan was his elder brother, the two brothers had disliked each other since childhood and had long been incompatible with each other. Now that he had a handle to get Zhao Jianan, Zhao Jianwen naturally hoped that the sooner the better, so he opened his mouth and said:
“Cousin, aren’t you worrying too much? Ye Mingsheng alone has put our Zhao family in a life-and-death situation? The Fengwu Army has been able to fight until now because of the sneak attack. And isn’t Zhao Jianan a waste...?”

"In my opinion, once my father returns from Jinzhong, the Fengwu Army should flee as far away as possible. This time, Ye Mingsheng's entry into the pass has ruined my father's plans. In my opinion, my father will never let him off easily. Once he is furious, the Fengwu Army will be defeated!"

"We used to look down on Liaoyang. As long as Ye Mingsheng could honestly make firearms for us, we could let him go. But now that Ye Mingsheng has dared to offend the majesty of heaven, father will definitely lead our invincible Youyan cavalry to capture Liaoyang and kill Ye Mingsheng's entire family as a warning to others. Only in this way can we vent our hatred!"

"Cousin, I heard that Ye Mingsheng's wife is An Miaoyi, the reincarnation of Bao Si. I have always wanted to meet her and see what she looks like. Is she as charming and stunning as the rumors say, and is she more beautiful than any other woman in the world? When you follow your father to conquer Dongning, you must not hurt her and leave her to me!"

Listening to Zhao Jianwen's words and looking at his shy expression, Zhao Yong was speechless. He didn't know where Zhao Jianwen got such great confidence from. Now it was Ye Mingsheng who was advancing aggressively and besieging Yijing to overthrow their Zhao family's rule over Youyan and kill all of their family. It was not their Yan army that was besieging Dongning...

We haven't even overcome this difficult time yet, and you're already thinking about conquering Liaoyang and coveting Ye Mingsheng's women?

Have you played with so many people that your brain got squeezed?

Although he wanted to slap Zhao Jianwen to calm him down, Zhao Yong still restrained his impulse and explained to Zhao Jianwen earnestly:
"Brother Wen, we underestimated Ye Mingsheng before. He has the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf, and is very good at hiding and disguising himself. Now he has taken off his disguise and is charging towards us. Even if our army can repel him, it will be extremely difficult!"

"I know you want to kill Zhao Jianan, and I want to help you kill him, but we can't be hasty now, and this depends on your uncle's opinion. If you do too much, it might make your uncle unhappy!"

Seeing Zhao Yong bringing Zhao Fuqu out, Zhao Jianwen's face suddenly darkened. Just when he was about to say something, a messenger suddenly ran in, knelt on one knee and reported to Zhao Yong:

"Reporting to the general, the spies in Guangzong County have reported that the 5,000 cavalrymen roaming around Guangzong County seem to have retreated. The defenders of Guangzong County now only have 3,000 people left in the county town..."

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Yong slammed the table and stood up, his face full of surprise. He ignored Zhao Jianwen who was laughing beside him and said excitedly:

"This bastard Ye Mingsheng has been dragging his feet for so many days, and he finally fell for my trick after drinking my foot washing water! Damn it, just wait and see how I can kill him and run to Yijing!"

Seeing Zhao Yong so excited and eager to help Yi Jing, Zhao Jianwen's unhappy expression was about to burst out. In his eyes, Zhao Yong did this not for the Zhao family, but just to save Zhao Jianan. Although he was dissatisfied, he still had to rely on Zhao Yong's military power, so Zhao Jianwen suppressed his anger and said to Zhao Yong:

"Cousin, don't forget that incident. Zhao Jianan must order Sun Zhunde to be executed. Sun Zhunde is an old man with a lot of bad intentions. He has been hiding behind the scenes and planning for Zhao Jianan to deal with us. We will have no good life until this old man dies!"

“As long as Zhao Jianan forces Sun Zhunde to death, his reputation will be completely ruined. I wonder who will dare to follow him in the future…”

At this time, Zhao Yong's mind was full of thoughts, how to capture Guangzong County so as to rush to Yijing as soon as possible, to save Yijing from danger and save the Zhao family from the dire situation. This was completely different from what Zhao Jianwen was thinking, but in order to deal with Zhao Jianwen, he naturally patted his chest and said:

"Brother Wen, just leave this matter to me, and just wait and see how I deal with Zhao Jianan!"

Zhao Jianwen felt somewhat satisfied after hearing what Zhao Yong said. After talking nonsense with Zhao Jianwen for a while, Zhao Yong finally sent him away. Looking at Zhao Jianwen's back as he left, Zhao Yong's disdain was truly revealed. He spat on the ground and cursed contemptuously:

"A dandy boy is here to teach me how to do things. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself to see what kind of person you are? If it weren't for the Feng family's face, would I bother with you?"

After scolding Zhao Jianwen, Zhao Yong did not delay any longer and immediately summoned his advisor and his trusted generals to hold a combat meeting. He wanted to fight a blitzkrieg with Ye Mingsheng, and by the time Ye Mingsheng didn’t even notice, he had already captured Guangzong County...
(End of this chapter)