Zhao Muyun helped him up: "General Zhang has rendered such a great service. I will certainly report this to His Majesty and reward him handsomely!"
"General Cai is loyal and brave in protecting his lord, so I appoint you as the Commandant of Dengzhou, still in command of your troops."
"Thank you, General!" Cai Rong immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.
"Rise, all of you! General Xiao, Military Advisor Yang, order the troops to rest, incorporate the prisoners, and rest the city walls!"
"Zhang Tao, reassure the people and send a message to the officials of various prefectures and counties in Henan that the Heavenly Army of our Great Yin is about to arrive, and let them make their own choice."
"Chen Kai, send a message by carrier pigeon to Xijing, informing His Majesty and Minister Pei that we have achieved our first strategic objective!"
"yes!"
After giving the order, Zhao Muyun turned to look at the important town, his eyes gleaming.
Dengzhou has been captured, and it is only 500 li away from Luoyang.
This long-distance raid has finally completed the most crucial step.
This news will surely be like a thunderclap, shaking the world.
......
Seven days later, in the capital, at the Fengchao Imperial Palace.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
Li Jingang slammed the urgent report in his hand to the ground, his rage erupting like thunder.
"Niu Dejin suffered a crushing defeat at Lantian, losing 20,000 men, and Gao Min was captured! Cao Lang lost Wuguan and surrendered without a fight! Zhang Tao's general Cai Rong surrendered Dengzhou, allowing Zhao Muyun's army to besiege the city!"
He pointed to the kneeling civil and military officials, his finger trembling:
"Five hundred li! Zhao Muyun is only five hundred li from the capital! Tell me, what should we do now?"
The hall was completely silent; no one dared to respond.
As the Minister of War, Ma Zongliang, the Right General of the Martial Guard, stepped forward with a heavy heart: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Although Zhao Muyun has occupied Dengzhou, he is isolated and his supplies are running low. We only need to mobilize a large army to encircle and annihilate him."
"Mobilize the army?"
Li Jingang sneered, "Where are you going to transfer them from? Li Hu from Longmen Pass? Or the troops on the Hebei front? Or Niu Dejin who fled in a sorry state?"
“Niu Dejin, I didn’t blame him for the defeat at Xiangzhou and even let him continue to lead the troops, but he has disappointed me greatly.”
Of the four kings who followed Li Jingang in starting the business, Hou Zongmin died early, and Yang Yan was stripped of his military power, had his wife and children killed, his home confiscated, and was forced to leave Jiannan by Li Jingang.
The current commanders are almost all members of Li Jingang's clan: Li Sheng of Youzhou, Li Bao of Weizhou, and Li Biao of Xiangzhou, each commanding an army of 100,000.
Even Li Hu, who was captured and released as a bargaining chip, actually became the commander-in-chief of the attack on Longmen Pass.
None of these members of the Li family know how to fight.
Ma Zongliang, who was skilled in warfare, had no military power. He served as the Minister of War and the Right General of the Imperial Guard in the imperial court, and everything was under Li Jingang's watchful eye.
Hearing Li Jingang scold Niu Dejin, Ma Zongliang felt a sense of shared sorrow.
Li Jingang didn't care what Ma Zongliang was thinking. He walked to the map and pointed heavily at Dengzhou: "Zhao Muyun's move has disrupted my entire plan!"
"Longmen Pass has been unsuccessful for a long time, Hedong has been in a stalemate, and now Dengzhou has also fallen..." Li Jingang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Issue an imperial edict, ordering Li Hu to immediately withdraw his troops and return to reinforce Luoyang!"
"Your Majesty!" Feng Liang exclaimed urgently, "Longmen Pass has been under siege for a long time and is about to fall. If we retreat now, all our previous efforts will be in vain!"
"What can we do if we don't retreat?" Li Jingang glared at him. "Should we let Zhao Muyun march straight to the capital? No matter how important Longmen Pass is, is it more important than the capital?"
Feng Liang was speechless.
"Furthermore," Li Jingang continued, "order the military governors in various regions to be on high alert against those former generals who surrendered to the Yin Dynasty. Anyone who flirts with the Yin Dynasty or Zhao Muyun should be executed first and reported later."
"In addition, I will transfer 10,000 troops each from Hebei and Huainan to assemble in the Dengzhou area. I intend to block Zhao Muyun in the Nanyang area."
"Didn't they send a force from Lingnan to participate in the battle before? They were ordered to be under the command of the Jingxiang Circuit Military Governor and to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Zhao Muyun."
"Your Majesty, other places are fine, but if we withdraw troops from Hebei, what if they launch a surprise attack from Hedong..." Cui Mian said worriedly.
"We can't worry about that now!" Li Jingang gritted his teeth. "We need to resolve the crisis in the capital first!"
Orders were issued from Luoyang, and the entire military force of Fengchao began a large-scale mobilization.
And all of this is exactly the result Zhao Muyun wanted.
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