Xue Yan quickly asked Xue Yu to summon the generals to the military tent for a discussion. He told everyone the conditions for surrender proposed by Shen Xu.
When people heard that the imperial court was willing to open its granaries and release grain to provide disaster relief and people's safety, most people felt relieved, and only a very few were dissatisfied with the result.
The battle has come to this point, and it would be somewhat unwilling to surrender.
Shen Xu simply told them the consequences of capturing Xiangyangling. After some lobbying and persuasion, several people reluctantly agreed to their peace proposal.
Xue Yan quickly ordered his men to pass the order to retreat to the front line. They sent people to deliver the handwritten letters of the seriously injured Pei Zhiyuan and Shen Xu to the royal camp. The envoys for peace talks hurriedly drafted a surrender proposal and passed it to the rebels.
Soon, news came from the front line that Xue’s army had abandoned the attack on Xiangyangling and retreated to Yuji Pass.
Several rebel generals also responded, saying that they would withdraw their troops and cease fighting if the famine problem could be solved.
Some even attached some conditions to gain benefits for their own team as much as possible.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"How is the battle situation in Xiangyangling?" Shen Xu hurriedly pulled the scout to inquire about the outcome of the battle.
"There were minor skirmishes last night, but neither side engaged in a formal direct confrontation. Only a few hundred scouts were killed on each side."
Upon hearing this, Shen Xu breathed a sigh of relief, her husband should be fine.
She sent a letter by express horse to inform Song Lin that the two sides had reached a peace agreement and that soldiers could be sent to evacuate Xiangyang Mountain in succession to treat the wounded and deal with the aftermath.
She wanted to rush to Xiangyangling immediately to see the person she thought about day and night, to personally confirm his safety, to hug and kiss him, and to feel that he was truly safe and sound by her side.
But now the two sides have not yet reached a complete peace agreement. There are still too many unstable factors and too many variables that require her to adapt to circumstances. She must keep an eye on it until the peace agreement is signed and the curtain of war falls.
The final word.
With an uneasy mood, Shen Xu stayed in the Xue army camp, listening to the good news brought back by the envoys they sent out to lobby, and his heart slowly settled down.
Finally, on the morning of the second day after Xue's army abandoned the attack on Xiangyangling, both sides summoned the main generals of Xue's army, generals of the royal army and several generals of the rebel army to the camp in front of Tianmen Pass to prepare to negotiate peace and sign a treaty.
However, at this moment, news of an urgent enemy attack came from Xiangyangling!
The rebel general Zhang Cheng was dissatisfied with the murder of his brother and vowed to take revenge, so he instigated the rebels to attack Xiangyangling.
The rebels who were originally preparing to sign an armistice agreement suddenly became chaotic. The three parties were on the verge of fighting again in the camp.
Just as Xue Yan said, the size of the northern rebel army was far more than 200,000.
Except for a few rebels who clearly wanted to surrender and accept the court's peace terms, there were many others who were watching and were angry about continuing the war.
There are no less than 300,000 troops!
The rebel Zhang Cheng has gathered 80,000 troops and is attacking Xiangyang Ridge. He has already confronted Song Lin, who has not had time to evacuate, on Xiangyang Mountain.
All the wavering rebels focused their attention on Xiangyangling.
Once Zhang Cheng breaks through Xiangyangling, those who are ready to make trouble will definitely rebel again.
Shen Xu hurriedly requested Xue Yan to send troops to quell the rebellion, but was opposed by the rebels. They had reservations about whether the court would really open the granaries to provide disaster relief, and most of them maintained a cautious wait-and-see attitude.
Many rebel generals immediately expressed their opinions if Xue Yan sent troops to attack Zhang Cheng.
The rebel army in the north will no longer regard him as their leader and will immediately declare war on Xue's army, demonstrating their determination to fight the court to the end.
By this time, it was too late to dispatch troops from Tianmen Yudu to provide support.
Song Lin’s 30,000 Xiangyangling soldiers are once again on the verge of death!
…
On Xiangyang Mountain, Song Lin and his generals had been exhausted after two days and two nights of hard fighting.
He stood on the fortress on the top of the mountain, looking at the lush poplar forest. The faint fragrance of the poplars mixed with the smell of blood, and the air became turbid.
They had forgotten how many battles they had experienced, but they knew that their nerves were always tense as they listened to the enemy's attack horns sounding again and again, and the wounded and dead were constantly being carried down from the front line.
"The engineering team should quickly repair the traps, and the supply team should go to the city to bring up some crossbows and collect some stones. Those who can still move should be responsible for filling the gaps in the formation." Song Lin was busy directing the soldiers. His lips were cracked and his low voice became a little hoarse.
Two days and two nights after the evacuation of 90,000 troops, he and the soldiers guarding the mountain hardly had time to drink a sip of water.
Li Fei stayed and vowed to defend Xiangyangling to the death. They had lost nearly 10,000 soldiers in the past few days.
However, after killing nearly 50,000 soldiers of Xue's regular army and the rebel coalition, he was confident that he could defend this vital city.
He began to believe that the young woman who had broken the Queyue Formation had really brought news of victory.
Just hold on for one more day, and there will definitely be news of victory!
The scouts ran through the forests with joy, shouting, "Victory news, victory news! The Black Wolf Banner is moving north! The Xue army is retreating! The Xue army is retreating!"
The exciting news spread throughout the entire mountain. The soldiers' tired faces showed the joy of victory, and many of them were cheering with crossbows in hand.
Song Lin and Li Fei also smiled with relief, but still did not dare to relax.
"The wounded should be evacuated first, and the remaining elite soldiers should guard the mountain for two more days to prevent Xue's army from pretending to retreat and counterattacking." Song Lin gave the order, ordering all personnel to rest on the spot and wait.
Li Fei had already ordered the cooks to slaughter pigs and sheep and start celebrating.
In just four days, they had received a lot of good news. Not long ago, he received the news that the royal army at Tianmen Pass had killed 40,000 rebels, and felt that victory was in sight.
He handed a bowl of water to Song Lin and said with a smile: "Brother Song, we can have a good rest tonight. I believe your wife has already defeated the Xue army. It seems that we will really receive the letter of surrender from the Northern Army tomorrow.
"Destroying a hundred thousand of their troops in less than five days is truly remarkable."
Song Lin took the bowl from Li Fei's hand and drank all the water in the bowl in one gulp, but he was still uneasy in his heart.
He didn't see that she was safe and sound. She said that she and Pei Zhiyuan were going to personally command the war at the Tianmen Yudu Second Pass.
Although she heard the good news, the battlefield is full of ruthless swords and knives, and she left the guards to him, and she didn't know whether Pei Zhiyuan could protect her.
At this moment, Song Lin had a thousand ideas in his mind. He abandoned the soldiers on the two hills, rode a fast horse, and headed towards Tianmen Yudu Pass to see the person he had been thinking about day and night.
But she had instructed that they must hold out for five days. Now that he had not received the letter of surrender from Xue Jun, he dared not leave his post without permission, nor did he dare to relax.
"Everyone rest for an hour and take up your positions. The engineers will continue repairing the traps, and the supply team will continue to fill the gaps in the ordnance. No slacking off."
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