Chapter 940 Preparation for total war!

At this time, in the chaotic battle outside Chishan Prefecture, although the Zhennan Army under Xu Zhaojie was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, perhaps it was because Xu Zhaojie personally rushed to the front line and played a role. The soldiers of the Zhennan Army became more and more courageous, and gradually gained the upper hand on the battlefield...

Seeing this, Lu Yun, who was under the protection of layers of guards, was also anxious. Although he wanted to follow Xu Zhaojie's example and lead the guards to charge, but after hearing the wailing and splattering blood coming from the battlefield, Lu Yun finally did not make up his mind and could only shout loudly:
"Where is the military court? Who dares to withdraw from the military court?"

"No one in the army is allowed to retreat. I will hold out! Five taels of silver for each enemy's head. Whoever kills Xu Zhaojie will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver and promoted three levels!"

Although Lu Yun's tactics of using military law on one hand and getting promoted and making money on the other hand temporarily stabilized the situation of the Jiangnan Army, the fierce fighting of the Zhennan Army had completely unbalanced the balance on the battlefield, and victory was tilting towards the Zhennan Army!

Although the battle situation had become unbalanced, Lu Yun still could not accept defeat. Just when he was about to lead his guards to make a final stand, the generals around him stopped him and advised them to withdraw. Although Lu Yuan was angry, he had no choice but to order a retreat!
Seeing the enemy army begin to retreat, Xu Zhaojie, who was already exhausted, became very excited, and subconsciously wanted to lead his troops to pursue the victory...
However, seeing that the enemy army was not retreating in an orderly manner and that the soldiers on his side were already exhausted, Xu Zhaojie could only lead his troops to chase for about a mile before stopping.

When daybreak came and Xu Zhaojie counted the results of the battle, he felt mixed emotions. He was happy because in this battle he killed nearly 10,000 enemy soldiers, captured more than 2,000 enemy soldiers, and seized countless military equipment including food. Lu Yun's troops suffered heavy casualties, and the Jiangnan Army would not be able to launch a large-scale offensive in a short period of time.

What worries Xu Zhaojie is that although his Zhennan Army turned the tide in this battle, it also suffered thousands of casualties, which made the Zhennan Army, which was already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, even worse!

Just when Xu Zhaojie was confused and didn't know what to do, he saw the guards around him coming to report:

"Sir, the commander of the Thousand Tiger Guards, Fang She, is here to see you!"

Xu Zhaojie was surprised to hear the news. Shouldn't Fang She be staying in Shouchun at this time? Why did he cross the Nanjiang River and come to Chishan Prefecture?
Although a little surprised, Xu Zhaojie still nodded. After getting his consent, the guard immediately brought Fang She to Xu Zhaojie.

"I am Fang She, your humble servant, and I am here to pay my respects to you, sir!" Upon seeing Xu Zhaojie, Fang She bowed without hesitation.

Looking at Fang She who was still respectful, Xu Zhaojie nodded and asked Fang She to stand up. Then he pondered for a moment and asked Fang She:

"Fang She, you came here this time. Did something happen in Shouchun?"

Facing Xu Zhaojie's question, Fang She said in a deep voice:
“Everything is fine in Shouchun. General Xu Hu has been working diligently to guard Shouchun for you, my Lord…”

Xu Zhaojie felt relieved after hearing this answer. Right now, the Zhennan Army was in a dilemma in Jiangnan. If problems occurred in their hometown Shouchun again, then it would be the end of them.

After adjusting his mood, Xu Zhaojie asked with some doubt:

"In that case, Fang She, why are you here at this time?"

Fang She said in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency, seven officials of the Jingchu Army, including Sun Chenggong's advisor Cheng Pingzhi, were assassinated in Hanjiang City. The murderer claimed to be one of our Thousand Tiger Guards. Have you heard of this incident?"

Hearing this, Xu Zhaojie frowned slightly. At this stage, his attention was focused on conquering Jiangnan, so he had no energy to care about Jingchu's affairs. In addition, he also heard the tentative meaning in Fang She's mouth at this moment, and knew that Fang She suspected that this matter was done by his order, so he shook his head and said:
"I don't know about this!"

Hearing Xu Zhaojie's straightforward answer, Fang She let go of the idea in his mind. Although Xu Zhaojie appointed him as the leader of the Thousand Tiger Guards, Fang She knew that Xu Zhaojie did not trust him 100%, and some people in the Thousand Tiger Guards were also secretly reporting directly to Xu Zhaojie.

So before hearing Xu Zhaojie's answer, Fang She suspected that Xu Zhaojie bypassed him and privately arranged for the people in the Thousand Tiger Guards to do this·······························
But since Xu Zhaojie didn't do this, Fang She thought there was only one possibility left, and he immediately said to Xu Zhaojie solemnly:

"Sir, I suspect the Fengwu Army is preparing to attack Sun Chenggong!"

As soon as these words came out, Xu Zhaojie's expression immediately became serious and he asked:
"Fang She, what news did you get?"

Fang She shook his head and said:

"The Coordination Office has always been very secretive, so it's hard for us to get accurate information. But through the cross-summary of some clues, I think the Fengwu Army is very likely to attack Sun Chenggong. This assassination attempt on the Jingchu Army officials is also very likely to be done by the Coordination Office disguised as our people!"

"Although I don't know why the Coordination Office did this, I feel that the Fengwu Army's plan has reached a critical point, and they are likely to take action in the near future!"

Hearing Fang She's subjective words, Xu Zhaojie's brows undoubtedly furrowed even deeper. After a moment, he asked again:
"What is the Fengwu Army doing now?"

Fang She hesitated for a moment and said:
“The Fengwu Army has already conquered Luoan. Shangguan Changgong was ambushed and killed by the Fengwu Army when he fled south. The Fengwu Army is gradually conquering various prefectures and counties in Guanzhong. In addition, the Fengwu Army is now spreading the news that Shangguan Changgong took the emperor hostage when he fled south, and when the Fengwu Army rescued the emperor, Shangguan Changgong killed the emperor…”

As soon as these words came out, a sneer suddenly appeared on Xu Zhaojie's face. He would not believe such nonsense. It was obvious that the Fengwu Army was in a very good situation now. The tail of that bastard Ye Mingsheng was finally exposed. Next, he might proclaim himself emperor in Luoan!

Although he envied Ye Mingsheng in his heart, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but scold him in front of Fang She:

"Ye Mingsheng, this traitor, really deserves to be cut into pieces. He killed His Majesty and disrupted the government. I shouldn't have been soft-hearted back then. I should have killed this bastard in the palace!" After hearing what Xu Zhaojie said, Fang She also echoed him. Xu Zhaojie pondered for a while and said:
"Can you think of a way to remind Sun Chenggong?"

Fang She thought for a moment and nodded.
"Of course you can, but I'm not sure if Sun Chenggong will listen to it, because Cheng Pingzhi hates us to the core now!"

"Also, since the Fengwu Army dared to prepare to attack Sun Chenggong, there must be an insider in the Jingchu Army. And with the current momentum of the Fengwu Army, there is a high possibility that there is more than one insider, so the situation may be a little difficult!"

Hearing this, Xu Zhaojie patted Fang She's shoulder and said:

"Everything depends on human efforts. I believe you can do it!"

After hearing what Xu Zhaojie said, Fang She naturally had nothing else to say and took the order:

"I will do my best to complete the task assigned by you, sir..."

After receiving Fang She's firm answer, Xu Zhaojie smiled slightly, and then said:

"How was your trip to Chishan Prefecture this time?"

In response to Xu Zhaojie's question, Fang She organized his speech:

"The situation on the road was not bad. Although we were investigated by the Jiangnan Navy, I had some connections and got a note from the Jiangnan Provincial Government, so I basically didn't encounter any trouble along the way!"

Hearing Fang She's answer, Xu Zhaojie's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, even though they had once again repelled the enemy's attack in Chishan Prefecture and kept Chishan Prefecture as the bridgehead for attacking Jiangnan.

However, with the increase in casualties of the Zhennan Army, the enemy was not defeated as quickly as expected, and their retreat was cut off by the Jiangnan Navy. Under the influence of these factors, Xu Zhaojie became pessimistic about the prospects of this attack on Jiangnan.

This also led Xu Zhaojie to think about withdrawing his troops. After all, to Jiangnan, he and his Zhennan Army were like rootless duckweed!

Although the enemy has been repelled for now, their strength is still superior to ours. They will come back again soon. However, Xu Zhaojie is not sure whether he can repel the enemy's invasion next time!
But the problem is that behind them is the Nanjiang River, and the Nanjiang River is controlled by the Jiangnan Navy. If they board the ship to retreat, they will definitely be killed by the Jiangnan Navy in the Nanjiang River. By then, the only more than 10,000 remaining Zhennan Army soldiers will also be fed to fish in the Nanjiang River...
So now there was no hope of advancing and the retreat was blocked, which forced Xu Zhaojie to start thinking of new ways.

Originally, Xu Zhaojie didn’t have any good solution for the current situation, but the appearance of Fang She made him think of a possibility!
Now the main force certainly cannot withdraw, but can Xu Zhaojie withdraw to Shouchun alone?
Right now, Xu is trapped in Chishan Prefecture like a hidden dragon in the abyss, unable to command the entire Zhennan Army. If he can return to Shouchun, he will be able to better mobilize the resources of the Zhennan Army, and may even reopen the Nanjiang River to continuously supply reinforcements to Chishan Prefecture!
However, there is one issue that Xu Zhaojie needs to consider, and that is that once the news of his departure leaks out, it will inevitably affect the morale of the army.

Originally, the Zhennan Army was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength in Chishan Prefecture. If the morale dropped to the bottom, the entire army would be wiped out in an instant!

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Yongliang, Jincheng!
Looking at the letter sent by Yi Jing, Asdogan slammed his fist heavily on the desk and roared with gnashing teeth:
"Ye Mingsheng, you bastard, you really bully me too much!"

Ever since successfully marching south to Jincheng, Asdogan has paid special attention to the movements of the Fengwu Army, hoping that his tough stance can scare the Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng, so that he can win without fighting and force Ye Mingsheng to give up conquering Yongliang!
In Asdogan's opinion, the Fengwu Army had just captured Luoan and has not yet completely consolidated its position in the Guanzhong region. There are also several princes in the south that need to be conquered urgently. Therefore, the Golden Horde and Yongliang are not the main targets of the Fengwu Army. So as long as he shows a tough enough attitude and is willing to fight, Ye Mingsheng will make the smart choice!

In this way, by taking Yongliang, he was able to gather the main force of the Cumans to march south, and it would not be a complete failure. He would have an explanation to the Khanate, and it would also maintain his authority as the Great Khan!
Then he could turn his gun around and deal with those damn Luobi people. Once he had dealt with the Luobi people and had no worries, he could fight Ye Mingsheng again!

Asdogan had a good idea and a careful calculation, but unfortunately Ye Mingsheng did not follow the script he wrote at all!

In this letter just sent from Yijing, Aisiduoan learned the news that Ye Mingsheng led his troops to swear an oath in Yijing! And the full text of Ye Mingsheng’s speech at the oath-taking ceremony...

From the fact that Ye Mingsheng mentioned many times in his speech the need to safeguard the sovereignty of the entire territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as the news that Ye Mingsheng led more than 30,000 people to the expedition, Asdogan felt Ye Mingsheng's determination to retake Yongliang!

This made Asdogan very angry, and he also felt that Ye Mingsheng was such a bully. He had clearly made concessions and only took over Yongliang, and did not invade Guanzhong or even Luoan again.

You, Ye Mingsheng, are not willing to stop yet and want to recover Yongliang to defend the territorial sovereignty of the Great Zhou. Haven't you heard of the term "pressing for more"?

After calming down his anger, Asdoan instructed the guards around him:
"Let all generals above the rank of thousand men come to the palace to discuss matters!"

Asdogan has made up his mind. Since you, Ye Mingsheng, insist on fighting this battle, I will fight you to the end!
Let’s see whether your Zhou people’s neck is harder or the saber of my Golden Horde is faster!
A stick of incense later, the generals of the Cumans arrived one after another and the meeting officially began. Before Asdogan could announce his decision, he received two more pieces of news that gave him a headache.

The first news was that the new Khan Robe gathered all Robe’s troops and prepared to take advantage of the situation and retake the Western Elunqin Steppe that was occupied by the Golden Horde.

The second piece of news was that the Fengwu Army had already controlled the entire Guanzhong area and had begun to absorb former imperial guards to supplement their forces!
These two pieces of news are undoubtedly signals of war, indicating that the Fengwu Army has begun comprehensive preparations for war. Once the war starts, the Golden Horde will be attacked from all sides...

(End of this chapter)