Chapter 849: The Grand Marshal of the Army of the World! (Thanks to the book friend, the lovely An An, for the reward!)
Although it was still hard to imagine that the Fengwu Army had captured Wenshan County so quickly, but after hearing what the soldier said, Wang Muzhi had to believe the fact that a major gap had been opened in his carefully arranged defense line...
The huge anger in his heart made Wang Muzhi have a splitting headache, and he even had a slight difficulty breathing, which made Wang Muzhi urgently want to lie down for a while.

But Wang Muzhi also understood that the lieutenant generals and guards in the tent were all looking at him. If he lay down at this time, it would undoubtedly cast a shadow on the already low morale of the Yunbing army. However, the pain in his body was about to swallow Wang Muzhi.

So even though he still wanted to hold on in front of everyone, Wang Muzhi had to make the right choice. He waved his hand and instructed everyone in the tent:
"Everyone, get out of here and let me calm down for a while!"

"Yes!"

After everyone else left the tent, Wang Muzhi slumped in a chair, which made him feel much better.

After about a cup of tea, the headache gradually subsided and my breathing gradually became stable.

Wang Muzhi, who had just recovered, did not dare to slack off in the face of such an urgent situation and immediately began to think about his next move.

Although Wang Muzhi had high hopes for the three counties of Heyi, Wenshan and Xiaode, he had never thought of using these three counties to completely stop the Fengwu Army. Wang Muzhi knew that this was completely unrealistic...

However, Wang Muzhi never imagined that the Fengwu Army would be able to break through his heavily guarded county so quickly, and so easily tear a huge gap in the defense line he had managed for half a year!

In Wang Muzhi's plan, the three counties of Heyi, Wenshan and Xiaode will at least block the Fengwu Army for two to three months. The Fengwu Army will only take these three counties after suffering at least 30,000 casualties.

Unfortunately, plans and reality are often inconsistent. As the governor of Yunbing in the Luoan court, Wang Muzhi must face such a difficult situation and take responsibility for the current situation in Yunbing!
Under Wang Muzhi's leadership, Heyi, Wenshan and Xiaode became an integrated whole. The Yunbing Army in Heyi County, the forefront of the group, gathered tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy artillery, hoping to defeat the Fengwu Army in Heyi County.

However, as Wenshan County fell into the hands of the Fengwu Army, the Fengwu Army gained an important stronghold behind Heyi County, from which they could use the advantage of cavalry to cut off the connection between Jinyang City and the front line.

Although they had stockpiled a batch of food and ammunition in Heyi County last year, no matter how much food and ammunition they had, they would eventually run out if they were not replenished.

Now that the Fengwu Army has taken over Wenshan County, they will most likely target Xiaode County next!
Now that Wenshan County has been lost, if Xiaode County is lost as well, not only will Heyi County be completely isolated and surrounded by the Fengwu Army, but the Fengwu Army will also gain an outpost fortress to attack Jinyang...
Thinking of this, Wang Muzhi immediately wanted to give an order to his men to send troops to reinforce Xiaode County. However, as soon as he opened his mouth and before he could say anything, he hesitated about his decision!

The garrison in Xiaode County is the smallest among the three counties, with only a little over 3,000 people. The city defense is relatively not very complete, and there is not even a urn. The area inside the city is not large, and the population in the city is only over 10,000. Even if reinforcements are sent, Xiaode County can only accommodate 5,000 soldiers at most.

If Wenshan County had not been lost, Xiaode County might have been able to withstand the fierce offensive of the Fengwu Army with the support of the other two counties.

But now Wenshan County has been occupied by the Fengwu Army, and Heyi County is blocked by the heavy troops of the Fengwu Army's Second Army. The stable structures of the three counties have been broken by the Fengwu Army. The Yunbing Army soldiers in Xiaode County can only rely on themselves to face the fierce offensive of the Fengwu Army!

Considering the current reality, the fall of Xiaode County is basically a foregone conclusion!

Even if they sent troops to support Xiaode County now and increased the number of defenders in Xiaode County to 5,000, all they could do was to create more difficulties for the Fengwu Army when they attacked the city, so that the Fengwu Army would take Xiaode County two or three days later!

After the first two Yunbing wars, Wang Muzhi realized that the Yunbing army could not compete with the Fengwu army in terms of artillery and soldier quality. In order to resist the Fengwu army, he could only make up for the lack of quality with quantity. He almost conscripted all the appropriate men in Yunbing into the Yunbing army...

However, due to various difficulties, the Yunbing Army now has only about 70,000 people left. About half of them are veterans of Yunbing with relatively stronger combat effectiveness, while the remaining half are newly recruited soldiers. Their quality varies, with boys of fourteen or fifteen years old and old men in their forties or fifties.

In order to delay the pace of the Fengwu Army and buy more time to train new recruits, Wang Muzhi transferred 20,000 of the few veterans to garrison in these three counties. So at this time in Jinyang City, although there seemed to be 50,000 soldiers stationed there, there were only a little over 10,000 veterans of the Yunbing Army in the city.

There is not much significance in supporting the new soldiers in Xiaode County, but if we support the old soldiers, it will have a huge impact on Jinyang’s city defense!
After thinking for a moment, Wang Muzhi sighed helplessly and gave up the idea of ​​supporting Xiaode County.

After pondering for a while, Wang Muzhi seemed to have an idea and whispered to himself:
"Since you Fengwu Army like to use traitors so much, let's have a good fight!"

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Luoan, Shangguanfu
In a remote courtyard, Shangguan Changgong looked at the small mound in front of him, his eyes full of grief, anger and pain.

After kowtowed three times to the small mound, Shangguan Changgong wiped the tears from his face, sorted out his emotions and walked out of the courtyard.

At this time, his cousin Shangguan Tingshu was waiting for him outside the courtyard. When he saw Shangguan Changgong coming out of the small courtyard, he immediately stepped forward and asked with concern:
"Brother, how is uncle doing? Can I go see him?"

Feeling the concern in his cousin's eyes, Shangguan Changgong felt even more sad. He patted his cousin on the shoulder and said:

"My father's condition has stabilized, but the doctor said he needs to rest for a while, and he can't see any visitors during this time!"

Listening to Shangguan Changgong's words, Shangguan Tingshu said with some confusion:

"Brother, am I also a foreign visitor? I haven't seen uncle for almost a month!"

After hearing this, Shangguan Changgong also frowned and reprimanded:
"This is all for my father's health! Ting Shu, don't be so willful!"

Seeing that his elder brother was a little angry, Shangguan Tingshu did not dare to say much, but bowed his head and admitted his fault:

"Brother, I was wrong. I won't bother my uncle!"

Shangguan Changgong nodded slightly and said:

"Ting Shu, get ready. Next I plan to send you to Sichuan to do some work..."

Shangguan Tingshu subconsciously asked back after hearing this:

"Brother, why do you want me to go to Sichuan?" Shangguan Changgong said:

"The grain collection in Sichuan and Shu is not going smoothly. It is said that some remnants of the imperial court who toured the south are causing trouble, so I plan to let you, Ting Shu, handle this matter!"

"Sichuan is the key to supporting the operation of the court. We must not allow it to fail. I will only feel at ease if you, Tingshu, make a trip!"

Shangguan Tingshu, who originally did not want to leave Luoan, naturally wanted to contribute to the family after hearing what his elder brother said. He nodded and said to relieve his brother's worries:

"Brother, I understand! I'll be ready to go to Sichuan soon!"

Seeing that his cousin had agreed to the job, Shangguan Changgong nodded slightly. The two chatted about some family matters before Shangguan Tingshu said goodbye and left.

Watching Shangguan Tingshu's back gradually turn into a small black dot and walk away, Shangguan Changgong couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He understood Shangguan Tingshu's intentions, and he was willing to trust his cousin, but for some things, the more people who knew about them, the greater the risk of exposure. Now was the most dangerous time, and if they were not careful, the entire Shangguan family would be in danger of overthrowing, so Shangguan Changgong did not dare to take any risks in this matter!
As long as Ting Shu stays in Luoan, that group of people will regard him as a breakthrough point and keep testing him. It is a good thing for him to go to Sichuan. In case things reach a stage where he can't do anything, it can be regarded as leaving some blood for the Shangguan family!

When Shangguan Changgong returned to the study, he received a report from the butler Wang Quan, saying that Yang Chongqing had arrived and was waiting for him in the reception room. Shangguan Changgong tidied his clothes and went to the reception room to meet Yang Chongqing.
Half a cup of tea later, Shangguan Changgong came to the reception room. At this time, a middle-aged man with a slender figure and extraordinary appearance, upon seeing Shangguan Changgong appear, immediately stood up from his chair and was about to kneel down to Shangguan Changgong.

This person is Yang Chongqing, the commander of the Great Zhou Shenwu Army who has just returned from injury!

Seeing this, Shangguan Changgong immediately took the lead and helped him up, pretending to be annoyed and said:
"Chongqing, you and I are brothers, what does this mean?"

Yang Chongqing said immediately:
"Sir Shangguan, you are the Minister of War. According to the etiquette of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I should kneel and bow to you when I meet you!"

Shangguan Changgong heard this and said:

"There's no need for those red tapes between you and me as brothers! You're really embarrassing me by doing this!"

After the two exchanged pleasantries, they sat down in the reception room as host and guest. Because Yang Chongqing had just recovered from his illness, Shangguan Changgong was more concerned about his health. After the two talked for a while, seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Shangguan Changgong directly said:

"Chongqing, have you heard about some of the recent rumors in the court?"

Although Shangguan Changgong did not specify what the rumor was, Yang Chongqing understood what Shangguan Changgong was talking about. His eyes dimmed and he pondered for a moment before saying:

“I have indeed heard some rumors, but I believe that these are conspiracies deliberately spread by the Fengwu Military Coordination Office in order to sow discord within the court…”

Listening to Yang Chongqing's words, Shangguan Changgong looked at him deeply, and then said with some disappointment:
"Chongqing, I've always believed that you and I can talk to each other from the heart!"

Yang Chongqing seemed very surprised by these words. Just when he was about to say something, Shangguan Changgong continued:

"Chongqing, since you won't say it, let me say it!"

"The rumors in the court are all true. My father intends to use Tang Peng and Ma Chongyang to check and balance you, to prevent you from dominating the imperial army!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Chongqing was about to kneel down again. This time, Shangguan Changgong did not help him up immediately. Instead, he waited until Yang Chongqing knelt in front of him before he stood up, helped him up and said:

"Chongqing, my father is not targeting you alone, nor does he distrust you alone!"

"No one can gain his complete trust, no matter who he is. I'm not happy with you saying that sometimes he even guards against me!"

"My father has given up his power to recuperate. I, Shangguan Changgong, am in charge of the entire Luoan court. Chongqing, you saved my life. If it weren't for you, I, Shangguan Changgong, would be a pile of bones now. I am willing to trust you completely!"

After saying this, Shangguan Changgong took out a seal that had been prepared long ago from the drawer, handed it to Yang Chongqing, and said firmly:
“Chongqing, I am going to appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Army. All the troops of the Luoan court will be under your command…”

Yang Chongqing was also completely shocked after hearing these words. He then looked at the seal in his hand, his eyes full of emotion, but he still declined:
"Your Excellency, you have been very kind to me, but Chongqing has made little contribution, how dare I accept this honor? Please take back your order, I am willing to serve you!"

Shangguan Changgong directly pressed the seal into Yang Chongqing's hand and said firmly:

"Chongqing, you and I brothers should stop refusing!"

"I made you the Grand Marshal of the Armies, not to let you enjoy yourself. I believe you have heard about the situation on the front line. Ye Mingsheng of the Fengwu Army is ambitious and everyone knows him. This traitor has the will to destroy our Great Zhou!"

"In order to get rid of my father and me, he even swore by the Luo River. We are incompatible with him and we cannot coexist with each other!"

"In this world, there is no Shangguan family but him, and there is no Shangguan family but Ye Mingsheng!"

“The Fengwu Army’s offensive is fierce now. Although Wang Muzhi has some abilities, he can only hold on struggling against the Fengwu Army. Chongqing now depends on you to save the world from collapse and save the people of the world from the clutches of Ye Mingsheng…”

(End of this chapter)