Jinyang City, General's Mansion.
Xiao Lie stayed awake all night, his face livid as he listened to the report from his trusted military officer.
The scout sent to Jingzhou for support brought back news that made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave: the ambush in Heifeng Valley failed!
Crown Prince Yinji was rescued by a mysterious army, and Mr. Fan Wenjing barely escaped with his life. Two thousand Beidi cavalry and fifteen hundred infantry were almost wiped out!
"Trash! They're all a bunch of trash!"
Xiao Lie smashed the teacup in his hand in anger. "With so many soldiers and horses, ambushing and attacking, you couldn't even kill a little kid?"
"And what about that army that suddenly appeared? What's their origin? Could they be Li Jingang's men?"
The soldier said tremblingly:
"General, according to the fleeing soldiers, that army was extremely well-equipped. They had an iron pipe that could emit thunderous sounds and spray flames. It was extremely powerful!"
"There's also a detachment of heavily armored infantry, invulnerable to swords and spears, and unstoppable with their Mo Dao swords... No... that doesn't seem like the style of Li Jingang's troops..."
“It’s not Li Jingang…”
Xiao Lie's pupils suddenly contracted, and a name immediately came to his mind, making him feel a chill.
"That's... Zhao Muyun! Only he! Only his Shuozhou Army has these strange weapons!"
He stumbled and fell into a chair.
Zhao Muyun intervened!
This means that not only did he fail to get rid of Yin Ji, but he completely exposed the fact that he was colluding with Beidi and even provoked an extremely terrifying enemy!
"General, what should we do now? If the prince returns to Jinyang and raises his arms, together with Zhang Huan and others..." The soldier's voice was filled with fear.
Xiao Lie suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and flashing with madness: "We can't let him come back! Absolutely not!"
He gasped for breath, thinking rapidly: "Immediately close all four gates and impose martial law throughout the city! No one is allowed to enter, no one is allowed to leave! Closely monitor the residences of all officials and generals associated with the Yin family!"
"Especially those who were close to Zhang Huan and Wang Ben before! It's better to kill them by mistake than to let them go!"
"And more!" He gritted his teeth, "Immediately send people to... the Prince's Mansion and His Majesty to strengthen the security!"
"Without my warrant, no one is allowed to approach! Go investigate again! Find out where Zhao Muyun's Shuozhou troops are and how many are there?"
One after another murderous orders were issued from the General's Mansion, and Jinyang City was instantly in a state of panic, shrouded in white terror.
Xiao Lie knew that he could only use ruthless means to forcibly suppress all possible resistance in order to buy time, wait for Beidi's further support, or... find other ways out.
......
Yanjing, the residence of Han Yanshou, the Privy Councilor of the Northern Di and Southern Courts.
The atmosphere was equally solemn.
Fan Wenjing returned in a dismal state and told Han Yanshou about the defeat at Heifeng Valley.
In particular, it focuses on describing the horror of the Shuozhou Army's "thunder artillery" and "invulnerable heavy armored infantry."
Both were from Yin. Fan Wenjing was the counselor of Zuoxian King, and Han Yanshou was the prime minister of Loufan King.
Even if Han Yanshou became the Privy Councilor of the Southern Court, he should have reported to Fan Wenjing.
However, Han Yanshou was the stepfather of King Loufan and a local prominent family in Yanyun Road.
Moreover, the troops mobilized by Fan Wenjing this time were all from Han Yanshou's Southern Court.
Of the more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, not many returned. Fan Wenjing was certainly in the wrong.
"Two thousand elite cavalry, fifteen hundred infantry... almost the entire army was annihilated..."
Han Yanshou's voice was icy. "Mr. Fan, although you are the counselor of Zuo Xian Wang, you promised me that everything would be foolproof."
Fan Wenjing said with a mournful face, "Lord Han, calm down! I truly never expected Zhao Muyun to dare to penetrate so deeply into Hebei, and...the advantages of his military equipment far exceed our imagination!"
"The sound of the artillery fire was like the collapse of the sky. It was absolutely beyond human control!"
"Zhao Muyun...it's that Zhao Muyun again!"
Han Yanshou's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "My king has been defeated by him many times, and now he has slaughtered thousands of my elite soldiers! If this boy is not eliminated, he will be a great threat to the Great Di!"
At this time, a general who had been silent all this time spoke up:
"Privy Councilor, accountability is useless now. The most urgent task is how to respond."
"Zhao Muyun rescued Yinji, and his next move will undoubtedly be to target Jinyang. If Yinji is allowed to regain control of Hedong with Zhao Muyun's support, it will be detrimental to our Great Di, and we in Yanyun will bear the brunt of the consequences!"
Han Yanshou took a deep breath and asked, "What do you think, General Tuoba?"
General Tuoba immediately replied, "Since Zhao Muyun's elite troops have appeared in Hebei, there must be only ordinary soldiers left in Shuozhou!"
"Why don't we take this opportunity to ask the Right Wise King for instructions and split our forces into two groups? One group will feint an attack on Shuozhou to contain Zhao Muyun's return reinforcements, while the other will head straight for Jinyang to help Xiao Lie stabilize the situation. Or... simply replace him with a more obedient agent!"
Han Yanshou's eyes flickered.
He was only worried that Zhao Mu would covet Yanyun Road after integrating Hedong.
As for sending troops to attack Zhao Muyun, that was something that Wutugu Chanyu and Youxian Wang Wuhan had to consider.
Seeing that Han Yanshou did not express his opinion, General Tuoba said:
"Wang Pan, Bai Shouren, and Zhou Dequan, the people who defected from Dayin, should still have some power in Hedong. Perhaps we can have them create some chaos in the city to cooperate with our army's operations."
Han Yanshou pondered for a long time, then looked at Fan Wenjing and deliberately asked, "Mr. Fan, what do you think? How about you return to Shengjing first and report our plan to the Chanyu, and have him give orders to the Right Wise King?"
Fan Wenjing's master, Zuo Xian Wang, was fighting against the Goguryeo people in Liaodong. He had no one to rely on, so what else could he say?
What's more, his ambush failed and he suffered heavy casualties.
"I am willing to make this trip. Lord Han and King Loufan, please wait for good news."
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