"Our army, with 200,000 troops, arrived at the gates of Yunmeng City. The Southern Zhou army, outnumbered, not only failed to defend the city but also sent Li Yunqing with 70,000 troops out of the city to provoke us. General Tuo Tie led 100,000 troops to fight them for three days. Li Yunqing was clearly at a disadvantage but did not retreat. Why? Because he wanted to buy time for He Biao and Zuo Zhu."

"When He Biao and Zuo Zhu led more than 20,000 troops to the rear of our army camp, General Xiao had already sent Fan Dao with 50,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on Yun Jing City. Only 50,000 men remained in the camp."

"General Xiao did indeed foresee that someone would attack the camp. If these 50,000 men were in the camp, He Biao and Zuo Zhu would not have acted rashly. But the Southern Zhou army only ordered Li Yunqing to retreat and defend the city at this time. Once our army starts attacking the city, we will have to send reinforcements."

"After General Xiao sent reinforcements to General Tuo Tie, He Biao immediately launched a surprise attack."

"this……"

"They absolutely predicted General Xiao's military strategy perfectly!"

Cheng Xu unconsciously stood up and continued, "What's even more chilling is that Yang Qingzhi calculated General Xiao's escape route and set up an ambush in Yun Jing Canyon in advance, and also had Cui Wuming wait by Jinghai Lake. This calculation can be described as flawless!"

After listening to Cheng Xu's explanation, everyone fell silent.

Indeed, Xiao Luofeng's every move in this battle was anticipated by his opponent.

Yan Zheng, who was also a strategist, sighed and said, "After General Xiao retreated, General Tuo Tie immediately retreated as well. He Biao did not pursue them at all, but instead went south with Li Yunqing to attack Fan Dao from both sides."

"Fan Dao's troops... were completely wiped out, and Fan Dao died in battle."

"Now only General Tuotie has returned with more than 80,000 remnants..."

"Our army suffered 120,000 casualties, either dead or surrendered, while the Southern Zhou side suffered less than 30,000 casualties."

“I am guilty of this battle,” Zhao Cheng suddenly said.

Yan Zheng immediately said, "General, please don't blame yourself. Xiao Luofeng is the commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army, and all arrangements are based on his orders. He should bear the main responsibility."

Cheng Xu nodded and said, "Xiao Luofeng must be severely punished."

"He will be severely punished once he recovers, but we'll discuss that later."

Zhao Cheng waved his hand and said, "But I chose the generals and arranged the backup plan. If I had sent Commander Yang or the Third Brother to follow Xiao Luofeng, Gan Lang wouldn't have died, and there would still have been a chance to get rid of Cui Wuming, this scourge. As the Great General, I can't shift all the blame onto others. I am guilty, so I must personally lead the southern expedition to atone for my sins with victory!"

"We are willing to go with the General!" the crowd exclaimed.

“This Cui Wuming… When he first appeared in Changsui and contacted Su Mingcheng to cause trouble, I knew he had someone behind him. How could someone with his intelligence set up such a scheme? It turns out he sided with Nan Zhou and followed Yang Qingzhi. Hmm, with Yang Qingzhi giving him advice, this makes sense.”

Zhao Cheng was still thinking about Cui Wuming, muttering to himself, "I just didn't expect him to become a Grandmaster too. Counting the three Grandmasters of Southern Zhou, Southern Zhou now has four Grandmasters!"

"Lord Deng, what is the current situation in Yunjing County?" Zhao Cheng changed the subject and looked at his father-in-law, Deng Fugui.

Deng Fugui stood up and said, "After our army retreated, the Southern Zhou army moved north slowly. In my opinion, they were waiting for reinforcements from the Southern Zhou. After all, although their casualties were few after two battles, they still needed to rest and resupply."

Zhao Cheng said, "It seems that Yang Qingzhi did not initially intend to launch a large-scale northward attack on Yunjing County. His attack on Feng Jing was just a test, but he did not expect to successfully capture the three cities of Yunjing."

Yan Zheng said, "Yes, he only leads 100,000 troops, and it doesn't seem like he's planning a large-scale northward march."

"But things are different now."

Zhao Cheng stood up and walked to the middle of the crowd, saying, "After defeating Feng Jing with lightning speed and then crushing Xiao Luofeng, Yang Qingzhi thought to himself, 'Hey, I'm actually that good? I just played around before and won two matches in a row. If I get serious, won't Dongjing be a piece of cake?'"

"Yuan Fei".

"Here!" Yuan Fei stood up.

Zhao Cheng instructed, "Arrange more members of the flying squad to keep an eye on Yun Jing County. If my estimate is correct, Southern Zhou will probably send a lot more troops to Yang Qingzhi."

"Yes, ma'am."

Zhao Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window, and said, "If Yang Qing has made up his mind to march north in a big way, then the previous two matches between Feng Jing and Xiao Luofeng were the preliminary rounds, and this third one is the real final battle."

"Zhao Yan!"

Zhao Cheng suddenly turned around and shouted.

"exist!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up.

"I will go to the palace tomorrow to ask His Majesty for permission to appoint you as General Pingnan and to serve as my deputy commander in the expedition against Yunjing!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Yan said excitedly, "Ever since we got married, my spear has been itching for a fight."

Everyone burst into laughter, and at the same time, they all looked at Zhao Cheng with expectant eyes.

"Cheng Xu".

"exist!"

"I hereby appoint you as my strategist, and you will accompany me on my campaign!"

"Thank you, General!!" Cheng Xu was overjoyed.

When Zhao Cheng sent him to Jingbei County to secretly train troops, it was an important task. However, seeing Yan Zheng following Zhao Cheng to the emperor's side and on the western expedition, he was extremely anxious, worried that when he returned to Zhao Cheng's side, he would be left far behind by Yan Zheng.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Cheng's first task for him to lead troops was to rescue Zhao Huan, and he lived up to expectations, playing a crucial role in helping Zhao Huan achieve victory.

This battle brought him into Zhao Cheng's inner circle.

But what he hoped for even more was to fight on the battlefield and make great achievements.

But to his utter surprise, Zhao Cheng actually appointed him as his strategist!

Yan Zheng glanced at Cheng Xu secretly, filled with envy.

"Zhao Hu!"

"Heng Wenhao!"

"Yuan Fei!"

"You will all come with me to war!"

"Yes, sir!" The three accepted the order.

Seeing that Zhao Cheng had no intention of appointing any more generals, Yan Zheng looked puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "General, what about me...?"

Zhao Cheng said, "You stay in Changsui."

Yan Zheng said disappointedly, "Does the General think I am not talented enough and is unwilling to use me?"

"Who said I don't need you anymore? I have a great use for you in Changsui!"

"Yan Zheng!"

"exist!"

"I appoint you as the Logistics Commander, and you must ensure the smooth march of our army."

Yan Zheng was stunned, his mouth stammering, "This...this is it?"

Zhao Cheng grabbed Yan Zheng's arm and said, "Mr. Yan, in the past, when I led troops, Marquis Qingdong was in charge of supervising the grain and logistics. But now that the new dynasty has just been established, Marquis Qingdong is too busy with domestic affairs alone. If I personally lead the army without Marquis Qingdong in charge of logistics, I will not have confidence. After thinking it over, you are the only one."

"I know you and Cheng Xu are secretly competing."

Zhao Cheng glanced at Cheng Xu and then said, "Cheng Xu is good at strategy, and you are better at planning. You two are my most important strategists. I feel more at ease entrusting logistics to you than to Cheng Xu."

"You must ensure the supply of food and provisions for our army. Lord Deng will build a rear granary in Jiangyang County. You and he must work together."

"Your burden is not only heavy, but also the most crucial."

Zhao Cheng cupped his hands to Yan Zheng and said, "Mr. Yan, I'm entrusting this to you!"