Chapter 493 Take advantage of the situation!

Looking at the low city wall of Guangzong County in front of him, Zhao Yong, who was riding on a purebred Arabian horse, had a proud look on his face. After learning yesterday that the 5,000 Fengwu Army cavalry roaming near Guangzong County had withdrawn, Zhao Yong immediately assembled his troops and led the army to attack Guangzong County overnight...
Behind Zhao Yong, more than 30,000 Yan army soldiers were ready to attack the city. They had all the siege equipment such as battering rams, battering rams, ladders, etc. Although Zhao Yong only sent 5,000 cavalry to Liucheng Township to rescue Yijing during this period, the main force of the army continued to remain in Zhuo County. However, Zhao Yong did not stay in Zhuo County in vain. He had been preparing these siege facilities and was ready to attack Guangzong County at any time.

Although he could rush to the vicinity of Yijing to get food locally and did not have to worry about Guangzong County affecting his logistical supply, Zhao Yong still wanted to capture this important transportation hub between Yijing and Zhuo County!
As for why Zhao Yong must conquer Guangzong County, this is also related to his little thoughts. It is true that Guangzong County has little impact on logistics supplies, but this place is Zhao Yong’s retreat!
Although Zhao Yong was confident that he could contain the Fengwu Army, delay its offensive against Yijing, and save the situation, the Fengwu Army was so aggressive that the Yan Army was defeated wherever it went, which made Zhao Yong fearful.

Although he could directly rescue Yijing without capturing Guangzong County, if he failed and the Fengwu Army controlled Guangzong County, it would be very troublesome for him to retreat to his old nest Zhuo County...
It is with this idea in mind that Zhao Yong is determined to take control of Guangzong County even if it takes more time!

"General, the brothers are all ready!"

Xue Kun, Zhao Yong's trusted general, walked up to Zhao Yong, bowed and reported:

Listening to Xue Kun's words, Zhao Yong nodded with satisfaction. Just when he was about to wave his hand and order his men to attack the city, he suddenly saw a group of soldiers, supporting a scout covered in blood, running towards him anxiously.

Seeing this, Zhao Yong frowned and asked:
"what happened?"

"General, it's bad! Guangzong County is a trap. We have found a large number of Fengwu troops ambushing on both the east and west sides of Guangzong County. There are so many of them, tens of thousands of them. Some are flying the Yuan flag, some are flying the Guo flag, and some are even flying the Ye flag!" The scout who was being supported said with his dying breath:

Zhao Yong was really shocked when he heard this, and said in disbelief:
"Shouldn't the main force of the Fengwu Army be attacking Yijing now? Why are they here?"

The scout said excitedly:

"Your Excellency is absolutely right. There are tens of thousands of them and they are definitely the main force of the Fengwu Army! I dare to guarantee it with my life..."

Hearing the scout's words, Zhao Yong stood there in a daze, his heart filled with bitterness. These scouts were all brought up by him personally. Although it was still hard to believe, his reason made him realize that the Fengwu Army, whom he thought had fallen into his trap, might have actually played a trick on him and abandoned Yijing to come for him, Zhao Yong!
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In a small ravine thirty miles east of Guangzong County, the Fengwu Army’s densely packed tents were stationed.

A personal soldier hurried into the central army tent and reported to Ye Mingsheng, who was resting with his eyes closed:

"General, Zhao Yong has withdrawn his troops and returned to the camp, giving up the attack on Guangzong County!"

Upon hearing the news, Ye Mingsheng opened his eyes. Although his expression remained unchanged, a hint of disappointment inevitably emerged in the depths of his eyes.

At the same time, Guo Zhiping walked out in shame, knelt on one knee in front of Ye Mingsheng, and pleaded guilty to Ye Mingsheng:

"It was my lax discipline that allowed the enemy scouts to discover our army's whereabouts, affecting our battle plan. I beg the Lord Commander to punish me!"

After the Battle of Songjiaji, Ye Mingsheng, who was determined to annihilate Zhao Yong, ordered his cavalry to hunt down the Youyan cavalry roaming around Yijing, creating the illusion that the army was still under the city of Yijing. At the same time, he quietly led the Fengwu Army to the vicinity of Guangzong County.

According to the original plan, the 5,000 cavalrymen wandering in Guangzong County pretended to withdraw to lure Zhao Yong into attacking, and then when Zhao Yong led his troops to attack the city, tens of thousands of Fengwu troops ambushed in Guangzong County would launch a sudden attack, and the outcome of the battle would be decided in one fell swoop, killing Zhao Yong outside the city of Guangzong County...
But unfortunately, although the plan was good, things often do not go as planned. Although Zhao Yong was confident that he had uncovered the evil plan of the Fengwu Army, he led his troops to Guangzong County as soon as the 5,000 cavalry withdrew. However, as a veteran general, he still had some basic combat qualities. After arriving in Guangzong County, he sent out scouts to investigate the situation around Guangzong County.

It has to be said that these scouts of the Yan Army were very powerful. Although Guo Zhiping's Second Division had tried its best to hide, the enemy still discovered some clues because of the large number of cavalry and the neighing of horses, and their whereabouts were discovered. Although Guo Zhiping sent his men to kill and intercept the Yan Army scouts as soon as possible, he was still a step too late, and the enemy escaped alive!

Seeing the ashamed Guo Zhiping, Ye Mingsheng did not reprimand him any further as the battle was imminent. He waved his hand and asked Guo Zhiping to stand up. Then he glanced at the generals in the camp and ordered in a deep voice:
"Since our whereabouts have been exposed and we can't launch a surprise attack, we should just use our army to launch a strong attack!"

“Zhao Yong has 30,000 men under his command, and we now have more than 60,000 troops here. We still have twice as many troops as the enemy! All generals must bravely take the lead and bring Zhao Yong’s head back to me. Anyone who is afraid of fighting and refuses to move forward will be punished by military law...”

"As ordered!"

Following Ye Mingsheng's order, tens of thousands of Fengwu troops who were ambushed near Guangzong County immediately gave up their hiding places and began to gather near Zhao Yong's camp.

Zhao Yong was in the center of the Yan army camp, and his personal soldiers came in one after another to report:

"Sir, the enemy's Yuan flag appeared on the east side of our army. It is suspected that the First Division of the Fengwu Army, Yuan Song, has about 20,000 people!"

"Sir, the enemy's Guo-character flag appeared on the west side of our army. It is suspected that the Third Division of the Fengwu Army led by Guo Zhiping has a number of about 15,000 people!"··············
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"Sir, the enemy's Ye flag appeared on the north side of our army. It is suspected that the Fengwu Army Commander Ye Mingsheng's troops have about 30,000 people!"

When Zhao Yong heard the previous news, he was able to remain calm, but when he heard the last three words "Ye Mingsheng", Zhao Yong's heart tightened and his right eyelid twitched involuntarily.

Zhao Yong looked fierce and cursed:
"This Fengwu Army still thinks highly of me, Zhao Yong! Yuan Song from the First Division, Guo Zhiping from the Third Division, and even Ye Mingsheng have come in person. They really want to slaughter me, Zhao Yong, and use me as their appetizer!"

Listening to Zhao Yong's words, Master Xu Zhe, who was standing beside him, said:
"Sir, the enemy's strength is twice that of ours. In addition, the enemy's firearms are sharp and powerful. Our army is in a dangerous situation..."

Before Xu Zhe finished speaking, Zhao Yong interrupted him impatiently and said:

"Old Xu, you don't need to tell me. Now all the idiots at the entrance of the village know that we are being targeted by that wolf cub Ye Mingsheng. Just tell me what we should do!"

As soon as Zhao Yong finished speaking, Xu Zhe looked at him and said directly:
"My Lord, of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best strategy. As long as we have the green mountains, we will never have to worry about having no firewood. Now it is about three and a half hours before dark! Hold on for these three and a half hours, and then we will fight our way back to Zhuo County before dark!"

Listening to Xu Zhe's advice, Zhao Yong fell into deep thought. To be honest, after realizing that he had fallen into Ye Mingsheng's ambush, on the one hand, he was glad that he had discovered the trace of the main force of the Fengwu Army before he attacked the city. It was a blessing in disguise.

On the other hand, Zhao Yong’s first reaction was to run away. Although he couldn’t understand what kind of train of thought Ye Mingsheng had that made him give up Yi Jing and lead the army to ambush him in Guangzong County, the situation was now very clear. The Fengwu Army near Guangzong County was more than twice as many as his own. He would definitely not be able to defeat them with his 30,000 men. If he insisted on holding on, there would be a danger of annihilation...
Although Zhao Yong was willing to consider the overall situation and for the sake of the entire Zhao family's face, he put aside past grudges and rushed to Yi Jing to help Zhao Jianan, but he was not noble enough to sacrifice himself for others and risk his life for Zhao Jianan, so he had to run away, but the problem was where to start running!

If he ran away now, what if the Fengwu Army returned to continue attacking Yijing? When Yijing was broken and Zhao Fuqu came back, he would not be able to explain to his uncle!

Looking at Zhao Yong in deep thought, Xu Zhe had been with him for so many years, and at this moment he could more or less guess what Zhao Yong was thinking, and quickly admonished him:

"Sir, the other side has spent so much effort and mobilized so many troops. The two main forces of the First Division and the Third Division have all been dispatched, and Ye Mingsheng has personally come out to take charge. The Fengwu Army is here to annihilate us completely. Sir, you can't take care of anything else at this time. Run as soon as you can while you can!"

“The fact that Ye Mingsheng led a large army here means that Yijing is definitely safe now. We have attracted the main force of the Fengwu Army here. We have done our best for Zhao Jianan. If Yijing can't be defended, it means that Zhao Jianan is hopeless, and it has nothing to do with you, sir. When the governor comes back, it can't be our fault..."

Zhao Yong was still a little hesitant after listening to Xu Zhe's words, and at this moment a deafening explosion sounded outside, accompanied by the painful wails of the Yan army soldiers and the helpless cries of the new recruits who had just been drawn from the local militia.

"What happened outside?" Zhao Yong rushed out of the tent and looked at the cruel scene outside that was like hell on earth. He immediately asked his personal guards with bloodshot eyes and holding the hilt of his knife:

In response to Zhao Yong's question, the guard answered truthfully:
"Report to the general, the red cannons of the Fengwu Army have opened fire from several miles away. The brothers in front have suffered heavy casualties, and the Fengwu Army's infantry has also rushed up!"

Zhao Yong's face turned gloomy when he heard the words of his personal soldiers. Although he had heard before that the red cannon of Fengwu Army was very fierce, the shell had not exploded on his head after all. So at first he thought it was the defeated army that deliberately exaggerated the defeat in order to escape responsibility. Now it seems that the rumors are true...

Because it was only a temporary garrison, the camp of Zhao Yong's troops was made of wood. It was completely useless against the first round of artillery fire from the Fengwu Army and was soon blown to pieces. Under the cover of the fire from the red cannons, the infantry of the Fengwu Army quickly filled up the trenches of the Yan Army camp and launched a charge towards the gap created by the cannons.

Although the red cannon exploded badly, when the two sides came into close combat, the Yan army soldiers still burst out with great fighting power. Facing the Fengwu army that was twice their number, they fought very tenaciously and tenaciously, refusing to give up an inch of land, and using the swords, guns and muskets in their hands to inflict the greatest damage to the Fengwu army soldiers as possible.

In this kind of close-range combat and even hand-to-hand combat, the firearms advantage of the Fengwu Army was greatly reduced. Over a period of several hours, the Fengwu Army charged several times and only managed to break into the outskirts of the Yan Army camp after suffering nearly 3,000 casualties.

Standing on the observation deck, Ye Mingsheng quietly observed the battle in the distance. After a long time, he put down the telescope and looked at the darkening sky. He instructed Yuan Song, Guo Zhiping and others around him:
"The second echelon will take the lead, and the first echelon will go down to rest. Prepare for a night battle tonight!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's order, Yuan Song seemed to want to say something, but hesitated and did not open his mouth. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng did not say much and continued to pick up the telescope to observe the battle situation in the Yan army camp...
Yuan Song did not speak, but he could probably guess what Yuan Song wanted to say. It was nothing more than that he disagreed with his method of fighting at night. He felt that his casualties would be very high in night battles, and he could take a safer approach with less casualties to break through the enemy's camp.

Ye Mingsheng certainly understood these principles, but he had no time. The Coordination Office had just sent him a message that Zhao Fuqu was about to return. At his current marching speed, he could reach Yijing in about seven days.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng must dare to annihilate Zhao Yong's troops before he returns, and then quickly return to Yijing to capture Yijing, consolidate his advantage in Youyan, and prepare for the next stage of the war.

Although there will be heavy casualties in a night battle and the soldiers will be very tired, this is not one-way. Only the soldiers of the Fengwu Army will be tired. The soldiers of the Yan Army will also be tired and troubled by the huge casualties. However, the initiative of the war is in the hands of the Fengwu Army, and the Fengwu Army has more soldiers and horses. The soldiers of the Fengwu Army can take turns to rest, but the soldiers of the Yan Army can only continue to fight. Therefore, there is no doubt that compared with the Fengwu Army, the Yan Army is more likely to be the first to be unable to bear it in a night battle...

(End of this chapter)