Chapter 495 The confused person!

"Besides this letter, does your family have anything else to tell you?" After thinking for a while, Zhang Hongxiang continued to ask Gu Liu:

Under Zhang Hongxiang's gaze, Gu Liu nodded and said:

"In addition to asking me to deliver this letter to you, Master Zhang, the young master also instructed me to follow your instructions on all other actions after I meet you..."

Zhang Hongxiang frowned when he heard this, thought for a while, and then asked:
"Did anyone notice you when you came?"

"My Lord, please rest assured! If it is not safe, Gu Liu will not come to see you!" Gu Liu said in a deep voice:
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongxiang looked Gu Liu up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. Facing Zhang Hongxiang's gaze, Gu Liu did not dodge at all and appeared very confident.

Out of his trust in Gu Shouting and his ability to judge people, Zhang Hongxiang was willing to believe what Gu Liu said. He thought for a while and then ordered:

"It's not safe out there! You can live here!"

"Yes!"

Gu Liu nodded and then, under the guidance of the servants in Zhang's mansion, walked out of the study and settled down temporarily in Zhang's mansion.

After Gu Liu left, Zhang Hongxiang was upset. He immediately found a whetstone from his study, then took out his personal sword and began to sharpen it slowly.

As a military commander, Zhang Hongxiang had a special hobby, that is, whenever he was upset, he liked to sharpen his knife by hand. As long as he heard the "rustling" sound of sharpening the knife, his mood would slowly calm down.

This time was no exception. As the blade rubbed against the whetstone, the "rustling" sound of sharpening was heard. Zhang Hongxiang's mind began to become focused and calm, concentrating on thinking about the difficult problem that Gu Shouting had given him...

Before Gu Liu arrived today, although Zhang Hongxiang was very worried about the Fengwu Army under the city, he did not have any other thoughts. Although his official rank had remained the same over the years, he was still just a commander.

However, relying on his father Zhang Hu's previous relationships, and choosing to protect himself, he did not blindly take sides on the sensitive issue of the Zhao family's heir. Therefore, with no one targeting him, the number of troops under his command increased day by day. Today, he is the commander of Dongyi Gate, one of the seven gates of Yijing, and has thousands of soldiers under his command.

Although it seems that Zhang Hongxiang is developing well in the Yan army, Zhang Hongxiang himself is very clear that he can get to where he is now, most of it thanks to his father's connections. But if he wants to take another step forward, his father's connections and energy will not be enough, and he can only rely on himself!

Seriously speaking, before seeing the letter from Gu Shouting today, Zhang Hongxiang was still thinking about making great military achievements through his own efforts, becoming a general of the Yan army and commanding thousands of troops like his father, and not bringing disgrace to the Zhang family!
But now a big problem is placed before him!

Can Yijing be defended?
If it was before the Fengwu Army arrived at the city of Yijing, Zhang Hongxiang would have scoffed at this question. He would have proudly told you that Yijing is the most solid city in the world and a city that will never fall...

But after being attacked fiercely by the Fengwu Army for so many days, facing this problem again, the only thing Zhang Hongxiang could do was to remain silent!

Although Zhao Jianan, who was in charge of Yijing, had ordered the news to be blocked, Zhang Hongxiang, as the garrison commander of one of the seven gates of Yijing and one of the senior generals of the Yan army in the city, was very clear about the current situation in the city. The original standing army in the city had suffered heavy casualties, and many of the soldiers defending the city now were young and strong men who had just been recruited.

Since the Fengwu Army attacked the city, the Yan Army had recruited young and strong men in the city three times due to insufficient manpower. The process of recruiting young and strong men became more and more difficult. The Fengwu Army was very cunning and despicable. They used catapults to launch leaflets into the city, denouncing the corruption and extravagance of the Zhao family and publicizing the policies of the Fengwu Army.

Although the Yan army had searched for these leaflets at the first opportunity and strictly prohibited the spread of leaflets in the army, it was unfortunately of no avail. The leaflets were still quietly spread in the military camp. The common people already hated the corruption and extravagance of the Zhao family. In addition, many people were attracted by the promises of the Fengwu Army on the leaflets and wanted to live a life as described in the leaflets, with clear justice and everyone living and working in peace and contentment. This undoubtedly greatly shook the morale of the Yan army and weakened its will to resist...
In addition to men, the Yan army was also greatly short of supplies. In order to gather thunder stones and rolling logs for defending the city, all the houses along the walls of Yijing had been demolished, which caused great resentment and dissatisfaction among the people. Even in this extremely dangerous situation, those damn rice merchants were still unwilling to give up the opportunity to make money.

Obviously, there was no shortage of food in the warehouses in the city, enough for the common people and soldiers to eat for several months. However, in order to make more money and squeeze the last bit of money out of the common people, these unscrupulous merchants still united to drive up the price of food and make huge profits. Faced with this situation, Zhao Jianan also wanted to hit the price of food at first, but faced with the joint pressure from the forces behind the rice merchants, Zhao Jianan, who felt all kinds of resistance, could only choose to turn a deaf ear and a dumb.

Although the food prices in Yijing City are high now, the food supply for the troops is still guaranteed. However, the most scarce medicines for the troops are running out!
No one expected that Ye Mingsheng would suddenly break into the pass and launch a surprise attack on Youyan in the first month of the year, so in order to support Zhao Fuqu's offensive in Yunbing, Youyan's knife wound medicine, hemostatic medicine, typhoid medicine, etc. were all collected and transported to Jinzhong... If Ye Mingsheng had not broken into the pass for a surprise attack, although there would be fewer medicines on the market, they would still be enough, and it would not have become like this. However, with Ye Mingsheng leading his troops into the pass for a surprise attack and the frenzied attack on Yijing, the number of casualties increased significantly, and the remaining medicines in the city soon became scarce.

Although Zhao Jianan reacted quickly and immediately listed the drugs as controlled items, strictly prohibiting all major pharmacies from selling them privately, there were not many drugs left in the city because of the previous concentration of drugs to support Yunbing. Now there are so many wounded and the consumption is so great, so no matter how the control is, drugs cannot appear out of thin air.

And because of the lack of medicine, countless Yan army soldiers did not die at the hands of the Fengwu army, but died slowly in agony. That miserable scene, which was like the one in the past, still happens in Yijing. Every night when Zhang Hongxiang goes to bed, he dreams of his soldiers stretching out their hands and begging him to save them, and the painful wails would often ring in his ears, making him toss and turn and unable to sleep at night.

Under such circumstances, it was difficult for Zhang Hongxiang to have any optimistic idea about defending Yijing. Unless Zhao Fuqu led his troops to the city of Yijing and lifted the siege of Yijing, the fall of Yijing would only be a matter of time.
After discovering that the 5,000 Youyan cavalry had arrived at the vicinity of Yijing a few days ago, the Yan army in the city were extremely excited and relieved from top to bottom, thinking that they would soon be relieved from their current suffering. Some very optimistic people were even rubbing their hands, thinking that a counterattack was just around the corner, and they would soon drive these damn Fengwu troops back to the cold Liaoyang.

However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment!
Everyone originally thought that these 5,000 Youyan cavalry were just the vanguard, and the main force would soon follow behind, but they soon realized that their reinforcements were only 5,000 Youyan cavalry, and the imagined large number of reinforcements was still a long way off. This immediately discouraged the soldiers in the city, but this was not the most frustrating thing!
Soon they discovered that the elite ace troops that the entire Yan army was most proud of, the invincible army that they regarded as their savior, were still no match for the Fengwu Army. When the captured Youyan cavalry and their horses wandered dejectedly outside the city of Yijing, the morale of the Yan army undoubtedly fell to the lowest point. Everyone gradually began to realize that no one could save them...

Perhaps because he is clearly aware of Yijing's current predicament of internal and external troubles, Zhao Jianan now seems to have accepted his fate. The once high-spirited and powerful eldest son of the Zhao family has not been seen for several days, hiding in his mansion, drinking to drown his sorrows and escape reality.

In such a situation, although Zhang Hongxiang wanted to help the Yan army, he was still young and had plenty of time. He did not want to wait for the Fengwu army to attack and then be buried with the Yan army and the Zhao family. Reason told him that it was time and he should consider his retreat.

He was the garrison commander of Dong Yi and he had more than a hundred family generals and personal soldiers who were loyal to him. So as long as he wanted, things would become very simple. He could just find an excuse to transfer the garrison troops at any night, open the city gate and let the Fengwu Army in, and that'd be it!
Although he had this idea, after all, Zhang Hongxiang had lived in the environment of Yan Army since he was born, and Yan Army had never treated him badly over the years, so Zhang Hongxiang still had deep feelings for Yan Army. In addition, if he chose to betray Yan Army and join Fengwu Army, his reputation would surely be ruined...

In addition, Zhang Hongxiang also had some concerns. After all, he had lived in the familiar comfort zone of the Yan Army since he was a child. He was accustomed to the life and rhythm of the Yan Army. If he were to join the Fengwu Army, would he be able to adapt smoothly? Would he be despised and looked down upon in the Fengwu Army because of his identity as a traitor?
And the most important question is, what can he get from the Fengwu Army after betraying the Yan Army?

Whenever Zhang Hongxiang thought of this, his heart was filled with hesitation and entanglement, but he knew that he had to make a decision as soon as possible because he didn't have much time. Even if he didn't decide to open the city gate, once the Fengwu Army resumed its offensive against Yijing, Yijing would fall in no time, and by then he would have no bargaining chips to negotiate with the Fengwu Army!
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"He brewed it! What a crap Youyan Iron Cavalry! Stop and fight me if you dare!"

"The coward is running like a rabbit. Where is the Youyan Iron Cavalry? The coward is the Iron Cavalry!"

"Did your mother give you a little courage? How could you cowards be scared to the point of peeing your pants so quickly?"

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Looking at the thousands of Youyan cavalrymen going away, the cavalrymen of the Fengwu Army's Third Division roared angrily:
Although under Ye Mingsheng's policy, the Fengwu Army already owned several horse farms in Liaoyang through measures such as mutual trade and self-breeding, and had gathered war horses for the cavalry, these were all ordinary war horses. As the most elite cavalry of the Great Zhou, the Youyan Iron Cavalry rode purebred horses. The difference in horse breeds led to a certain gap in the endurance, speed, and explosive power of the horses of both sides!

Although after receiving Ye Mingsheng's order to kill Zhao Yong, Guo Zhiping led the cavalry of the Third Division and desperately chased Zhao Yong to kill this Yan army general, unfortunately, due to the difference in horse breeds, they ultimately failed to catch up with Zhao Yong.

The Third Division Lieutenant General Tian Kai sighed and muttered helplessly:
"It was because of my Third Division that our ambush plan failed. Now we haven't caught Zhao Yong. How are we going to report to the Governor? Those people from the First and Second Divisions will mock us again..."

Guo Zhiping, who was surrounded by the crowd, smiled faintly while listening to Tian Kai's words. Seeing the smile on Guo Zhiping's face, Cui Desheng, the deputy general of the Third Division, was moved and asked tentatively:
"Sir, do you have any tricks up your sleeve?"

Hearing this, Guo Zhiping turned to look at Cui Desheng, the deputy general who was from the Cui family but worked very well with him. He smiled and said confidently:

"Don't worry, Zhao Yong can't get away! I, Guo, will definitely take his head! The disaster was caused by my Third Division, so naturally, my Third Division will make up for it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Zhiping waved his hand and ordered:

"The entire army should take a break for an hour. After an hour, we will attack Sunjiagou with all our forces!"

As a general who is best at cavalry combat in the Fengwu Army, Guo Zhiping has always believed in a saying, that is, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. As the most elite cavalry unit of the Great Zhou, the Youyan Iron Cavalry has always been the object of Guo Zhiping's learning.

This time when facing the Youyan Cavalry, Guo Zhiping was very clear about his advantages in firearms and numbers. He also understood the gap between himself and the Youyan Cavalry in terms of horse breeds, cavalry tactics, and mounted archery. Therefore, after receiving the order to hunt down Zhao Yong last night, he realized that the gap in horse breeds would make it difficult for them to catch up with Zhao Yong!
Since it is difficult to catch up with the enemy, we have to change our thinking and think about how to slow them down, or even stop and wait for them...
(End of this chapter)