Just as Xijing was making tense preparations for defense, the situation outside Wannian City also reached a delicate moment.
Lin Feng strictly followed Zhao Muyun's feint.
During the day, they lower their flags and drums, but at night they are brightly lit, with their cavalry making a show of force.
This unusual behavior made the already suspicious Zhang Tao even more confused.
Gao Min's 10,000 reinforcements finally arrived at Zhang Tao's camp on the afternoon of the third day.
The two armies joined forces, bringing their total strength to 30,000, and their morale soared.
"General Zhang, His Majesty has decreed that we investigate Yang Chao's true strength and weaknesses, and if he has already rebelled, we must immediately annihilate him!"
Gao Min, young and impetuous, was quite disdainful of Zhang Tao's hesitation. "Now that our army is strong and well-equipped, why not launch an attack on Wannian immediately? If Zhao Muyun is really in the city, we can defeat him in one fell swoop! If he is not, taking Wannian would still be a great achievement!"
Zhang Tao remained cautious: "General Gao, you may not know this. Zhao Muyun is cunning in his military tactics, Yang Chao's movements are unclear, and the Wannian garrison is behaving abnormally. If we attack rashly, we may fall into an ambush."
"What about Yang Chao's camp?" Gao Min pressed. "Have they ascertained its strength?"
Zhang Tao shook his head: "Yang Chao's camp seems normal, but his elite troops may have been transferred elsewhere. The day before yesterday, some 'defeated soldiers' came to surrender, saying that Yang Chao and Yang Yan had a dispute over dividing their troops... It's hard to tell what's true and what's false."
Gao Min said impatiently, "Who cares if it's true or false! Tomorrow our army will attack Yang Chao's main camp first, and we'll know for sure! If Yang Chao's main force is still there, we can wipe them out! If only the old and weak are left, we'll go straight for Wan Nian! We can't let 30,000 troops waste their food and supplies here!"
After much hesitation, seeing Gao Min's resolute attitude and the emperor's clear decree, Zhang Tao finally nodded:
"Very well. Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), we will first attack Yang Chao's main camp. General Gao will lead his troops on the left flank, and I will lead the army on the right flank, and we will advance simultaneously."
However, what they didn't know was that at the very moment they finalized their plan, Yang Yan received a message from Yang Chao via carrier pigeon.
Under the dim light of an oil lamp, Yang Yan looked at the brief yet heart-wrenching battle report, his hands trembling slightly.
Xijing was prepared, reinforcements had arrived, and Chao'er suffered a crushing defeat...
All the calculations seemed to fall apart at the last step.
"General..." Li Jin looked at him with concern.
Yang Yan remained silent for a long time before slowly bringing the battle report close to the lamp flame, watching it turn to ashes.
When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with a cold, resolute determination.
"The plan has changed." His voice was hoarse but clear. "Zhang Tao and Gao Min have joined forces and will surely come to test us tomorrow. We can no longer stay here."
"Then we..."
"Break camp tonight." Yang Yan walked to the map and traced a hidden route with his finger. "Don't take the main road, and don't head west to meet up with Chao'er. Head north, enter the Ziwu Ridge, and return to Jiannan."
Li Jin was startled: "We're going back to Jiannan? What about General Chao's place...?"
"Chao'er has just suffered a defeat and is unable to attack Xijing again. Xijing's reinforcements have arrived, and Zhao Muyun must be on his way back to reinforce. Xijing is no longer a viable option."
Yang Yan was frighteningly calm. "Let's go back to Jiannan first, hold our position in a strategic location, recuperate, and then plan our next move."
He glanced in the direction of Wannian: "As for Zhang Tao and Gao Min... let them go and have a good fight with Zhao Muyun and that empty camp."
"Pass down the order: cook dinner at midnight, break camp at 4 AM, take all supplies with you if you can, and burn the rest if you can't, and do it all quietly."
"Also, send a fast horse to inform Chao'er that he can return to Jiannan from Dasanguan without taking the Ziwu Road."
At the fourth watch of the night, Yang Yan led 30,000 troops and quietly left the camp he had been preparing for several days, leaving behind only several thousand old, weak, sick and disabled people, as well as a large number of empty tents and flags.
The army vanished like ghosts into the towering mountains.
At dawn the following day, Zhang Tao and Gao Min's 30,000-strong army marched in a mighty force toward Yang Chao's camp.
What awaited them was an almost empty camp and a handful of old, weak, and disabled soldiers.
Meanwhile, in Wannian City, Lin Feng saw the fires rising in Yang Chao's camp and the enemy attacking. Knowing that the time had come, he immediately lit the beacon fires, raised all the flags, and beat the war drums, making it appear as if his army was about to leave the city to launch a pincer attack.
Zhang Tao was shocked to see this, thinking he had fallen into a trap, and hurriedly ordered a retreat.
Although Gao Min was unwilling, seeing the banners waving and the drums beating loudly on the Wannian City wall, he dared not take the risk and had no choice but to retreat.
A highly anticipated battle ended in such an anticlimactic way.
While Zhang Tao and Gao Min retreated to their camp in surprise and uncertainty, Zhao Muyun's three thousand light cavalry had already crossed the northern mountains and arrived at the eastern outskirts of the western suburbs.
Zhao Muyun reined in his horse on the high slope, gazing at the "Yin" and "Wu" banners fluttering atop the city walls of Xijing, and then at the smoke and dust rising from Yang Chao's remnant camp in the direction of Qishan to the west, and breathed a sigh of relief.
What follows is no longer a localized entanglement, but a true struggle for supremacy.
Zhao Muyun knew that he had to quickly integrate the forces of Xijing, Longyou, and Hedong to deal with the coming, even more violent storm.
He spurred his warhorse and galloped toward the gates of Xijing.
Behind him, three thousand light cavalry followed like shadows.
When Zhao Muyun's three thousand light cavalry arrived at the East Gate of Xi'an, it was already dusk.
The setting sun, like blood, stained the ancient city, which had just survived a life-or-death ordeal, with a tragic golden-red hue.
The repair marks on the city wall, the bloodstains that have not yet been cleaned, and the faint smell of burning and blood in the air silently tell the story of the fierce battle that took place not long ago.
Yin Ji, Fan Nan, Pei Lun, Wu Shangzhi, and others were already waiting outside the city gate.
When Zhao Muyun's travel-worn figure appeared on the other side of the suspension bridge, Yinji's eyes instantly reddened.
"Master!" Yinji rushed forward, his voice choked with emotion.
Zhao Muyun dismounted, grasped Yinji's hand, and quickly glanced at his slightly pale face and the bandages on his arm. A hint of heartache flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly covered by a deeper calm.
"I'm back. Your Highness, you've worked hard. Everyone, you've all worked hard."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange, comforting power.
The soldiers standing solemnly in front of the city gates, whose faces had been tense from days of bloody battles, relaxed to some extent.
With Zhao Muyun's arrival, the pillar of support was finally there.
"Grand Commander!" Wu Shangzhi, Zhou Hong, Wang Tiezhu and others stepped forward to pay their respects.
Zhao Muyun nodded, his gaze falling on Wang Tiezhu's wheelchair. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly before relaxing. He patted his old friend on the shoulder and said, "Zhuzi, you've worked hard."
Wang Tiezhu forced a smile and said hoarsely, "It's my duty. The real danger lies in the Grand Commander's long journey."
Without much small talk, the group quickly entered the city and headed straight for the former Prince Jin's residence, now the temporary commander's mansion.
The entire journey was marked by devastation.
The collapsed houses, the groans coming from the makeshift wounded soldiers' camp, the laborers hurriedly carrying supplies on the streets, and the people with terrified expressions all showed the immense pressure this city was under.
In the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion, a huge map of the mountains and rivers has been hung up.
Zhao Muyun took off his cloak, walked to the front of the map, and his gaze swept over each key point like that of a hawk.
"Your Highness, what is the current situation in Xijing?"
He asked directly and concisely.
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