"This is the first victory the imperial court has won since suppressing the rebellion!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"
In Fengxian Hall, upon learning the news that Prince Ning had withdrawn his troops, all the civil officials were overjoyed and they all congratulated Xia Chongwen.
Xia Chongwen also looked at the military report that had just been sent urgently from Jinan Prefecture over three hundred miles with a look of surprise.
"Good! That's great!" Xia Chongwen smiled and stood up from the dragon throne. "Pass on my decree. Tie Xuan is promoted to Minister of War and is to return to the capital to take up his post immediately! Sheng Yong is also promoted to General Pingning and is to continue to garrison Jinan Prefecture!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
......
The weather was very cold. By the time lights were turned on, there were almost no people walking on the streets of Yanjing City.
Thousands of lights are shining, but it still feels a bit bleak.
Xia Yu and Shen Yuyao were walking on the street, while Ma Sanbao and Danggui were following them from a distance.
"Your Highness, are we setting off tomorrow?" Shen Yuyao asked.
After a few months of rest, Xia Yu was ready to set out again to attack Jinan Prefecture tomorrow. Before leaving, he asked Shen Yuyao to go for a walk on the streets of Yanjing.
Xia Yu frowned slightly and said, "Yes, now that our troops are strong and our horses are in good condition, it's time to continue our march south."
Shen Yuyao heard from the East Factory that the current commander of Jinan Prefecture is no longer Tie Xuan, but Sheng Yong.
"Does Your Majesty know much about Sheng Yong?"
Like Zhang Yu, Sheng Yong had once fought on the battlefield under Xia Yu.
Zhang Yu also told Xia Yu that although Sheng Yong was not a gentleman, he was still good at leading troops in battle.
Xia Yu smiled and looked at Shen Yuyao. "They were all generals under me. Although I don't know much about them, they are more or less the same. They all learned the same military tactics from me. I think they are no more than other generals in the imperial court."
Shen Yuyao looked up at the sky and saw a meteor falling rapidly. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Your Highness, could you please make some more preparations, such as doing more work on General Sheng Yong who is defending the city?" Shen Yuyao frowned slightly and persuaded Xia Yu.
"It takes a thousand days to train an army, but only a moment to deploy it," Xia Yu said. "Our army's morale is high right now. If we set out any later, I'm afraid we'll inevitably become lazy."
Shen Yuyao didn't feel relaxed when she heard this.
For some reason, Xia Yu's expedition this time was different from the previous ones, which always made Shen Yuyao feel uneasy.
She also showed worry on her face, looked into Xia Yu's eyes and said, "Your Highness, please be very careful in this battle!"
Xia Yu nodded and comforted her: "Yuyao, don't worry too much. Xian'er told me yesterday that she would go to the battle with me."
Shen Yuyao felt a little relieved when she heard that Xia Xiaoxian would accompany Xia Yu on the expedition.
But Xia Yu did not tell her that in his previous life, during the Second Battle of Jinan Prefecture, he, as a general defending the imperial court, was reborn amidst a sea of blood and corpses.
This time, he was the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army.
Xia Yu had no idea what the future held, but the outcome would be clear after these two battles in Jinan Prefecture.
However, what Xia Yu had never expected was that the second battle of Jinan Prefecture would be extremely difficult for him.
Sheng Yong, who was defending the city, did not remain trapped in Jinan Prefecture like Tie Xuan had done before. Instead, he took the initiative to attack and fought Xia Yu's Jingnan Army with real swords and guns for several days.
After the last battle, and considering that Sheng Yong had fought with Xia Yu before, the imperial army was already familiar with the combat effectiveness and strategy of the Jingnan Army.
In addition, the imperial court also issued an edict that if the city of Jinan could not be defended, all officers and soldiers would be punished by the court.
The officers and soldiers defending the city also knew that now they only had one chance left to fight to the death!
After several days of fierce fighting, Xia Yu's Jingnan Army was slowly surrounded by the imperial army.
"Report!"
"Xia Yu has now divided his troops into two teams and is preparing to break out."
"The court has ordered that Prince Ning be captured alive. Soldiers, listen up!" Sheng Yongzheng was preparing to follow Xia Chongwen's order and capture Xia Yu alive.
“Wait!”
Sheng Yong looked up and saw Tie Xuan, who was originally working in Beijing. Upon hearing that Xia Yu was going south to fight again in Jinan Prefecture, he also rode his horse at full speed from Kyoto to the Jinan Prefecture camp.
"Master Tie!" Sheng Yong cupped his hands and saluted Tie Xuan.
"Listen to my orders, leave no one alive from the two teams! Attack and kill them all!" Tie Xuan said in a deep voice.
All the generals in the camp looked at each other in confusion. Isn't this disobeying the order?
Sheng Yong also looked at Tie Xuan beside him with a puzzled look, but Tie Xuan signaled him with his eyes to obey his orders!
"Don't leave any of the two teams alive! Attack and kill them all!" Sheng Yong could only repeat Tie Xuan's order.
"yes!"
At this time, Zhang Yu, who was responsible for covering Xia Yu's breakout, suddenly discovered Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan on a small hill in the distance.
Catch the leader first!
Zhang Yu immediately led a small group of people and rushed towards the small hill where Tie Xuan and Sheng Yong were.
Xia Yu, who was fighting in the melee between the two armies, suddenly returned to the scene of his previous life.
Xia Yu was surrounded by local soldiers. His warhorse was seriously injured, and he himself was covered in blood. He couldn't tell whether it was the enemy's or his own.
A soldier from the imperial court slashed at Xia Yu with a fierce knife.
Seeing that he had nowhere to hide, a man suddenly rushed over and stabbed Xia Yu with his shoulder.
"Your Highness, hurry up!"
"Let's go together!"
Xia Yu's eyes were bloodshot. He turned around and knocked an enemy cavalryman next to him off his horse. He then jumped on the horse himself and pulled Zhu Aneng on as well.
Two people on one horse.
Finally, they fought their way out and broke out.
Xia Yu, who had just broken out of the encirclement, turned around and looked back, only to find that Zhang Yu had fallen into the encirclement of the imperial army in order to save her.
"Go back! Save Zhang Yu!"
Xia Yu shouted loudly and turned to rush towards Zhang Yu.
But no matter what Zhu Aneng said behind him, it would not put Xia Yu in danger again. He used his right arm, which was still able to move, to lift the hilt of the knife, and when Xia Yu was not paying attention, he knocked him unconscious on the horse's back.
"Your Highness, please forgive me!"
Zhu Aneng shouted to Xia Yu, then galloped towards the Jingnan Army camp in the distance.
At this time, Zhang Yu, who was surrounded by enemies, was seriously injured and dying.
"Zhang Yu, you and I used to be close friends, but now we serve different masters. Why don't you surrender to the court? I will go to the imperial court and ask His Majesty to show mercy and pardon you and your family." Sheng Yong stood in the distance, looking at Zhang Yu who was surrounded and shouted.
"Sheng Yong, listen to me! As men of Yanjing, we will die! We will not surrender!"
Zhang Yu staggered and struggled to stand up, but spoke with extraordinary determination.
Looking at Zhang Yu, who would rather die than surrender, Sheng Yong said, "Musketeer!"
"exist!"
"Follow my orders!"
"shoot!"
After a few gunshots, Zhang Yu and the few remaining soldiers in the encirclement finally fell in a pool of blood.
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