Taiyuan, Shanxi.
Yang Zhiyong stared at the letter in his hand, stunned, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
He then couldn't catch his breath and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing him like this, his personal guards immediately stepped forward and said:
"General, General."
Yang Zhiyong, having barely recovered, looked at the blood-stained letter and said:
“Hong Chengchou, you traitor Hong, I swear to kill you.”
The letter in front of him contained information about the Yang family being killed by Hong Chengchou.
It's no wonder Yang Zhiyong was so furious; most of his Yang family members had been slaughtered by Hong Chengchou.
His younger brother, Yang Zhiwen, then spoke up to persuade him:
"Brother, calm down."
After calming down, Yang Zhiyong understood his current situation.
Shaanxi, which he originally considered his rear, is no longer an option; they are now surrounded by Li Qin on all sides.
Whether it's the north, east, west, or south, they are all enemies.
Moreover, they have no reinforcements and are in a completely desperate situation.
Most importantly, during this period, Li Qin had been secretly sending people to spread the terms of surrender in Shanxi.
The terms of surrender were extremely generous.
He could imagine the scene of Shanxi officials surrendering everywhere once Li Qin conquered Shanxi.
He fell silent at the thought of this outcome.
Because no matter what he thought, they were all doomed to die now.
Just as he fell silent, a soldier rushed in and said:
"Great General."
"What happened? Why are you so flustered?"
Yang Zhiwen immediately spoke up.
The soldier continued:
"General, according to the report, the officials and garrison commanders of Zezhou and Lu'an Prefecture have accepted the surrender offer from the bandit general Li Xuanshang and handed over these two places to Li Qin."
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing this news, Yang Zhiyong immediately stood up from his seat.
As news of the upheaval in Shaanxi spread, even before Li Qin launched his attack, officials in Shanxi had already begun to surrender.
If Li Qin were to launch an attack, how many people in Shanxi would stand up to resist?
Thinking of this scene.
Yang Zhiyong slumped weakly into the chair and waved to the soldier in front of him, signaling him to leave.
Then Yang Zhiyong looked at Yang Zhiwen beside him and said:
"Zhiwen, go to the army now, immediately. The army absolutely cannot have any more problems."
Otherwise, we're really finished.
"Yes, elder brother."
After Yang Zhiwen finished speaking, he got up to go to the army, but before leaving, he turned back to look at Yang Zhiyong and said:
"Brother, if it really comes down to it, let's leave Shanxi."
Shanxi is now surrounded by enemies on all sides and has no support whatsoever. Continuing to defend will only lead to certain death.
The entire Shanxi province has now become a dead zone.
Only by leaving Shanxi, escaping this deadly situation, preserving our army, and avoiding a direct confrontation with Li Qin, can we have a glimmer of hope.
"We should thoroughly eliminate the traitor Li in the future."
"Leave Shanxi?"
Upon hearing his younger brother Yang Zhiwen's words, Yang Zhiyong frowned.
It was clear that he was interested in this option.
Staying means one of us will die; everyone knows that.
But if we leave Shanxi, this deadly place, where can we go?
After Yang Zhiwen left, Yang Zhiyong opened the map in front of him again.
Advancing eastward would be suicidal, while advancing westward to fight Hong Chengchou in Shaanxi would be tantamount to exposing their backs to Li Qin.
That would be suicide; Jiangxiang Yang from Datong is blocking the way to the north, so they can't go.
The only option is to find a way to go south to Henan.
It just so happens that Henan is in chaos right now. We can take advantage of this opportunity to seize some territory there. With the support of the south, things will be much better than they are now.
After careful consideration, Yang Zhiyong finally decided to lead his army south, leaving Shanxi, which had become a dead end, and heading to Henan.
He then immediately ordered the army to take everything they could, as well as the families of their respective soldiers, and march south.
After a period of preparation, the army brought all its provisions and equipment.
They slowly left Taiyuan and headed towards southern Shanxi.
Immediately after they set off, the Imperial Guards in Taiyuan reported their movements to Li Qin in the capital.
Upon reading the intelligence report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Li Qin immediately realized that Yang Zhiyong was about to flee.
After the upheaval in Shaanxi, he realized that Shanxi was now a dead end surrounded by enemies on all sides.
If he attacks Shanxi, he will only face certain death.
He has no chance of survival if he escapes this deadly situation.
So, was he leading a large army to leave Taiyuan in preparation for fleeing to Henan?
Li Qin immediately opened the map in front of him. Although his various armies were not yet ready for battle, they had to move out.
With Yang Zhiyong leaving Taiyuan, the city will be vulnerable. If Jiang Xiangyang from Datong takes the opportunity to seize Taiyuan, he will suffer a huge loss.
He then immediately ordered Zhang Hengshuo, who was in Zhengding, and Li Xuanshang, who had just entered Zezhou and Lu'an Prefecture in Shanxi and was taking over these places, to launch a full-scale attack on Shanxi.
Now that news of the upheaval in Shaanxi has spread, officials in Shanxi no longer have much will to resist.
Especially after Yang Zhiyong led his army away.
To immediately begin the attack on Shanxi, Zhang Hengshuo attacked Jingxing from Zhengding and then went to seize Taiyuan.
According to intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yang Zhiyong took all his elite troops with him when he left.
The troops currently stationed in Jingxing are likely second- or third-tier units that were temporarily recruited, and their numbers are small and their fighting spirit is weak.
Therefore, he was ordered to first seize the undefended Taiyuan.
Meanwhile, Li Xuanshang, who was taking over Zezhou and Lu'an Prefecture, was heading towards Pingyang Prefecture in southwestern Shanxi to see if he could stop Yang Zhiyong's army that was marching south.
At the same time, they seized Pingyang Prefecture in southwestern Shanxi, blocking Hong Chengchou's opportunity to extend his influence into Shanxi.
As soon as Li Qin gave the order, his personal guards immediately put up urgent messages and rode south.
After issuing these two orders, Li Qin wrote another letter to Jiang Xiangyang in Datong.
Tell him to stay in Datong and wait for orders. I will personally lead the army from the capital to Xuanfu, Datong and other places to inspect the border. I will inspect the border troops there. You better stay where you are.
If you dare to go south to Taiyuan, leaving your base in Datong.
My army and I are stationed right next to Datong. If you dare to leave, I can't guarantee you'll ever be able to return to Datong.
Even if you seize Taiyuan, it won't matter.
Anyway, I've made so many preparations for attacking Taiyuan. Whether it's attacking Yang Zhiyong or Jiang Xiangyang in Taiyuan, it's all the same.
Don't forget that my troops are stationed in all directions around Taiyuan.
Yang Zhiyong just escaped this deadly place, and you dare to crawl into it?
In any case, Taiyuan is definitely mine.
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