Chapter 494: A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Listening to the roar of explosions coming from afar and the painful wails of our wounded being evacuated from the front line, Zhao Yong in the camp had a gloomy expression on his face. He paced back and forth anxiously in the tent, as if he was waiting for some news...

He walked back and forth in the tent dozens of times, but the roar and wailing in his ears still did not stop. Seeing this, Zhao Yong could no longer sit still and shouted outside the tent:

'What time is it now?'

Listening to Zhao Yong's words, the personal guard outside the tent came in and reported:

"Reporting to the Lord, it is now three quarters past midnight!"

After getting this answer, Zhao Yong's face showed anger and he shouted:

“You Ye Mingsheng, you son of a bitch, you bastard, it’s already three quarters past midnight and you still haven’t stopped? Do you really think you can defeat me? You beast, worse than pigs and dogs, I’m going to fight you today, just let me see if I can take off your head and use it as a chamber pot…”

After scolding Ye Mingsheng for a whole cup of tea and venting out his anger and frustration, Zhao Yong instructed his men:
"Find Xu Zhe for me!"

"Yes!"

At first, Zhao Yong was a little concerned about Zhao Fuqu's attitude towards Xu Zhe's proposal, so he planned to hold on for a while before running away and giving Zhao Fuqu an explanation. However, after hearing the casualty reports of the past few hours, Zhao Yong's mentality changed quickly, and he wanted to escape under the cover of night.

But he never expected that Ye Mingsheng would be so ruthless. No matter how many times the Yan army repelled the Fengwu army's attacks, the Fengwu army would launch a new offensive within half an hour. From the very beginning to now, the Fengwu army's attack has never stopped, and it seems that the Fengwu army is determined to fight to the death all night long!
Having served in the army for decades, Zhao Yong usually boasted of his rich experience, but this was the first time he had seen such a ruthless person. Ye Mingsheng didn't know that in such a night battle, his Fengwu Army would suffer higher casualties.
The battle has lasted for five or six hours. The casualties on both sides are very heavy. The soldiers are exhausted. Both sides have now entered a competition of spiritual will. It depends on who will give up first...

After waiting for about a cup of tea, Xu Zhe walked into Zhao Yong's tent. Seeing Zhao Yong, Xu Zhe did not bother to understand and spoke directly:
"My Lord, based on my observation, the Fengwu Army has been rotating all the time. The current Fengwu Army is not the same as the one that attacked the village at the beginning. Ye Mingsheng wants to use his numerical advantage to outlast us!"

Zhao Yong nodded helplessly at what Xu Zhe said. He had noticed this situation a long time ago, but he was helpless and had no good way to deal with it. After all, as the defenders, although they had the camp as a support, they had lost the initiative in the war and could only passively take the beating. In addition, the Fengwu Army had the advantage in numbers and firearms, which led to their current passive situation.

"Old Xu, do you have any good ideas for our current situation?" Zhao Yong looked at Xu Zhe hopefully, hoping that this master who had followed him for many years could give him a good strategy to defeat the enemy in this adversity.

Xu Zhe did not give an immediate answer to Zhao Yong's expectation. Instead, he pondered for a while and asked Zhao Yong:
"My lord, I have a question, I don't know..."

"Old Xu, just tell me what you want to know. I will tell you everything I know!" Zhao Yong said decisively:

Seeing this, Xu Zhe no longer had any scruples and immediately asked Zhao Yong seriously:

"Sir, how many casualties do we have now?"

As a military advisor, Xu Zhe cannot judge the combat effectiveness of the soldiers on both sides by observing the changes in the battle situation like the warriors who come from the military, but he also has his own set of methods, which is to judge the combat effectiveness of the Fengwu Army by the number of casualties on his side!
Listening to Xu Zhe's question, Zhao Yong's face darkened and he hesitated for a moment before saying;
"An hour ago, more than 2,000 soldiers were killed and more than 3,000 were injured. The Fengwu Army should be in a similar situation as us!"

After getting this answer, Xu Zhe's face turned very serious. Although he had long realized that today's battle for the Yan army would be a fierce battle and it would not be easy, he never expected that in less than a day, they would suffer 5,000 casualties. You know, they only have 30,000 people in total, and this time they lost more than one-sixth of their troops...
In addition, if Zhao Yong's judgment is correct, and the Fengwu Army also suffered 5,000 casualties, then the casualty ratio of the two sides is one to one. But you must know that the Yan Army is defending the village, and the Fengwu Army is attacking the village. Generally speaking, the casualties of attacking the village should be more than those of defending the village. Now that the casualty figures of both sides are so close, it is enough to show how strong the combat effectiveness of the Fengwu Army is!

Seeing Xu Zhe's grim expression, Zhao Yong probably guessed what he was thinking and waved his hand and said:
"The main reason why the Fengwu Army suffered casualties and was close to our army was that their firearms caused a lot of damage to our army during the day, but now it is dark at night and their firearms cannot be used!"

Listening to Zhao Yong's explanation, Xu Zhe nodded and said:

“Sir, I guess Ye Mingsheng is so crazy and insists on eating up our army regardless of casualties. The reason behind this is probably because there is movement from the Governor-General’s side. So Ye Mingsheng wants to avoid a greater threat to him from the reunion of our army and the Governor-General, so he does this…”

Xu Zhe's words immediately brightened Zhao Yong's eyes. A hint of surprise appeared on his rough face, and he asked back:

"You mean to say that my uncle is coming back with his troops?"

"It is very likely that this is the case. This is the only way to explain why Ye Mingsheng is fighting so desperately with our army now!" Xu Zhe analyzed calmly:
Zhao Yong still had great confidence in Xu Zhe's analysis. He walked around the tent excitedly for several times and then asked:
"Old Xu, do you think I should hold Ye Mingsheng back here and wait for my uncle to come back and destroy him in one fell swoop?"

Facing Zhao Yong's question, Xu Zhe said in a deep voice:
"Sir, the enemy troops that appeared on our side include the First Division and the Third Division of the Fengwu Army, and Ye Mingsheng's 20,000 troops, but the only one missing is the Second Division. Where do you think the Second Division is now?"

Although he didn't know why Xu Zhe mentioned this, Zhao Yong said without hesitation:
"This second division must be in Yijing!"

Xu Zhe continued to say:

“Sir, let’s assume that the Governor has really returned from Jinzhong and is about to arrive in Youyan. Do you think he will rescue Yijing first, or will he come to Guangzong County to rescue our army first?”

Zhao Yong was stunned when Xu Zhe said this, and at the same time Xu Zhe continued:
"Even if the Governor-General can sit back and watch Yi Jing do nothing and come to Guangzong County to rescue our army, can our army hold out until then? Our army has suffered 5,000 casualties today alone, and we only have 30,000 soldiers in total. How many 5,000 men can be spared for such a consumption?" It has to be said that Xu Zhe's two questions directly hit Zhao Yong's sore spot, which made Zhao Yong so frightened that he felt a chill down his spine when he thought about it carefully!
Although Zhao Yong believed in the uncle-nephew relationship between him and Zhao Fuqu, he had to admit that Yijing was the foundation of the Zhao family and the core of the Zhao family's regime that could not be lost. Moreover, eight out of ten roads to come to Guangzong County would pass through Yijing. So from this point of view, there was indeed a good possibility that Zhao Fuqu would first rescue Yijing from the siege and then come to Guangzong County to rescue himself.

If he did so, although Zhao Fuqu had stabilized the foundation of the Zhao family's regime, it would be a disaster for Zhao Yong personally. After this wave of battles, no matter how optimistic Zhao Yong was about the combat effectiveness of his soldiers, he would not think that he could hold on for too long. Marching and fighting is not a simple multiplication and division. If I have 30,000 people and 5,000 casualties a day, the result is that I can hold on for six days...
In this era of cold weapons, if the army's casualties exceed 30%, the morale of the army will begin to weaken, and if the casualties exceed half, it will easily lead to a major rout!
According to Zhao Yong's estimation, he felt that the 30,000 men under his command could only hold out for about three days against the Fengwu Army's attack. It would be very difficult to hold out for more than three days, and there would be a risk of defeat at any time!
But now, if Zhao Fuqu really wants to rescue Yijing first, then it may take more than thirty days to reach Guangzong County, let alone three days!
Thinking of this, Zhao Yong’s face suddenly became uncertain. Although he and Zhao Fuqu had a father-son relationship, Yi Jing was the foundation of the Zhao family. He was really not sure whether Zhao Fuqu would come to Guangzong County to rescue him first. He was not sure who was more important in Zhao Fuqu’s heart, Yi Jing or himself...
After pondering for a whole incense stick of time, Zhao Yong's eyes showed a hint of ruthlessness. As the saying goes, a friend would rather die than let me die. He, Zhao Yong, has done his best for the Zhao family until now. He cannot risk the annihilation of the entire army and his own defeat and death by continuing to fight against the Fengwu Army!
"Old Xu, pass the order down that all units will break out in one hour!" Zhao Yong ordered in a deep voice:

Seeing that Zhao Yong finally figured it out, Xu Zhe nodded and left.

An hour later, in the Fengwu Army camp.

Ye Mingsheng, who was sleeping in his quilt and clothes, was woken up by someone. After waking up, Ye Mingsheng rubbed his sleepy eyes and subconsciously asked Ye Kui in front of him:

"Have you captured Zhao Yong's camp?"

Ye Kui shook his head and said:

"Zhao Yong led his troops to break out to the west under the cover of night!"

As soon as these words came out, Ye Mingsheng woke up instantly and asked Ye Kui:
"What's the specific situation?"

"General Yuan's First Division is at the forefront, currently surrounding Zhao Yong and preventing him from escaping!" Ye Kui continued:
As soon as Ye Kui finished speaking, Qi Dechao walked into the tent and breathlessly reported to Ye Mingsheng:

“Sir, Zhao Yong failed to break out from the direction of the First Division, and has ordered his subordinates to break out in different directions. He will personally lead 3,000 cavalry to break out from the west, and the remaining troops will be led by Xue Kun and Lu Neng to break out from the east and south respectively…”

"Because the First Division asked for help, the Third Division and our troops went over to support them. Zhao Yong's scattered breakout caught our army off guard. Zhao Yong and Xue Kun had already broken out, and only the 8,000 troops under Lu Neng were still in our encirclement!"

Upon hearing this latest news, Ye Mingsheng's eyes narrowed involuntarily, and he became even more murderous towards Zhao Yong. Although Zhao Yong was unknown before, judging from his performance, he was both brave and resourceful. Moreover, he was very decisive in cutting off his own arm, and he broke through immediately when he saw the situation was not good, without any delay. If he let the tiger go in this battle, allowing him to return to Zhao Fuqu's side would sooner or later be a disaster!

Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng felt murderous intent in his heart, and immediately ordered Qi Dechao:

"Send a message to Yuan Song to command his troops to wipe out Lu Neng's troops! Also send a message to Guo Zhiping to lead all the cavalry to hunt down Zhao Yong and make sure to bring Zhao Yong's head back to me!"

····························
····························
When the war broke out in Guangzong County, although Yijing seemed calm, there were undercurrents in secret.

In the central area of ​​Yijing, in the study of Zhang Mansion on East Third Street.

Zhang Hongxiang read the letter in his hand three times, making sure that he had read every word on it. Then he put the letter down and focused his eyes on the young man in front of him who was wearing a blue robe, thin but looked very smart.

Although they haven't seen each other for several years, if he remembered correctly, this young man was called Gu Liu and was once Gu Shouting's servant!

After taking a deep look at Gu Liu, Zhang Hongxiang asked in a deep voice:
"Brother Gu has already joined the Fengwu Army?"

"Yes!"

In response to Zhang Hongxiang's question, Gu Liu nodded calmly.

Zhang Hongxiang continued to ask:
"When did this happen?"

"Before the Fengwu Army entered the pass!" Gu Liu replied:

Hearing this answer, Zhang Hongxiang's eyes flashed with a strange color and asked:

"So he has provided assistance to the Fengwu Army when it entered the pass?"

"Master Zhang, I don't know about that! The young master you know would never tell me such things!" Gu Liu shook his head and said:
Although Gu Liu said he didn’t know, Zhang Hongxiang knew it in his heart and shook his head helplessly. Although they had not met since Gu Shouting came out of prison to avoid suspicion, he knew very well what kind of torture Gu Shouting had suffered there...

As a close friend who had shared life and death with him, he knew Gu Shouting's character very well, and he also knew clearly what Gu Shouting would do after encountering those things. He thought that Gu Shouting would never have this opportunity, but what he never expected was that the hungry wolf in sheep's clothing from the east completely changed everything and changed the fate of all of them!

(End of this chapter)