The years when I explored the fairyland.

Chapter 201 198: Strategic Change and Stalemate (Seeking a vote)

Crowds of people gathered at the top of the Yanshui City.

Chu Zhou was a little embarrassed when he saw Wei Fangjie coming over: "Junior brother, those two martial arts masters were not killed, but there is no need to rush, no need to rush."

Wei Fangjie chuckled and said, "That was just a morale booster, don't take it seriously, Senior Brother.

However, if you can kill them, especially the red-haired old man from the Pure World Red Lotus Society, Senior Brother, don’t hold back.”

"Don't worry, they can escape for a while, but they can't escape forever!"

Chu Zhou said this and looked at the others, his eyes sweeping over everyone.

There was Zhu Xuan of Wanxiangzhai who had little health, Han Zhigui of Hanshui Sect who had a broken arm, General Zheng Simao of Xuanwei whose face was as pale as paper, and Quan Fangwan, the county lieutenant of Yanshui City, who was carried to the top of the city wall...

But they are lucky, at least they still have their lives.

The battlements, the tops of the cities, the corridors, and the open spaces were all filled with the bodies of soldiers. There were also those who were not completely dead, and their wails were getting weaker and weaker.

Even though Xuanzhen Temple was well prepared for this battle, it still paid a heavy price.

Chu Zhou wanted to say something, something to boost morale, but he felt that any words would be pale and powerless at this moment.

After a long while, he only uttered one sentence: "We have defended this city, and we have also defended our home!"

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!!!"

It was just a plain sentence, but it drifted away with the wind, spread throughout the entire Yanshui City, and reached the ears of everyone.

Then, cheers were heard, noisy and chaotic, but the joy in them was visible to the naked eye.

But in the end, it turned into the sobbing and wailing of countless people, and crying became the mainstream.

Chu Zhou retracted his gaze and looked up at the sky. Seeing the moon and stars were sparse, he said, "On a night like this, there should be a heavy rain!"

……

Crackling!

Rumble, rumble!

If Chu Zhou says it will rain, then it must rain.

Then, dark clouds rolled in the sky, blocking the starlight again, and there were lightning and thunder, and then a heavy rain fell.

But this rain was not ordinary rain, it contained the 'Sweet Rain Technique', 'Rejuvenation Spell' and several recovery techniques that Chu Zhou knew.

When the rain fell on the earth and on the wounded, they felt warm currents flowing through their bodies, and their injuries immediately healed a lot.

Of course, it is just a large-scale recovery technique with limited effect. The most important thing is to stimulate the body's own self-healing ability.

Under the heavy rain, Xuanzhen Temple, represented by Wei Jinkui, was rescuing the wounded.

It should be said that Xuanzhen Temple was extremely well prepared. In addition to the usual war preparations, there was also an adequate supply of herbal medicines, semi-finished wound medicines, and a team of doctors numbering up to a hundred people.

They are very experienced in dealing with external injuries and their rescue efforts are very organized.

As for cleaning up the battlefield, repairing the city defenses, setting up positions, and conscripting civilians...

These were coordinated and arranged by Wang Zhi, the magistrate of Tianquan County, with cooperation from the Hanshui Sect.

In fact, the original county magistrate was not Wang Zhi, but an appointment by the imperial court. Unfortunately, he escaped with his cronies before the war even started.

However, it is better for him to leave, so that Ji Mingqian doesn't have to find ways to sideline him.

Wang Zhi is Ji Mingqian's confidant. Although he is not a talented person, he has strong execution ability and mobilization ability. He is also hardworking and always rushes to the front line.

With this person around, the entire Yanshui City was mobilized, and with the full support of the local tyrant Hanshui Sect, the efficiency was indeed extremely fast.

In addition, this heavy rain also washed away the bloody smell in the air and made the land outside the city extremely muddy.

……

outside the city,

The camp of the Beggars' Army has become extremely quiet, one could even describe it as 'silent'.

The soldiers sat on the ground, with their weapons thrown everywhere, as if they had lost their souls.

After all, they are not a truly battle-hardened army, and are just bandits at heart. When the Beggars' Army is fighting a favorable battle, they are naturally brave and fearless.

But if they suffer setbacks, morale will collapse extremely quickly.

At this time, on the mound, the Weeping King Ran Yongzeng, who had arranged all the trivial matters, finally had time to face his two masters.

He repeated a fact in a low voice: "We failed again!"

The red-haired old man raised his eyebrows and looked very angry: "This is a very obvious result, there is no need for you to repeat it to us!"

"But if we lose, we will be in danger!"

Ran Yongzeng asked again: "Master, what is the specific strength of Chu Zhou from Xuanzhen Temple?"

The red-haired old man and the young monk both had grim looks on their faces. They looked at each other, not knowing how to start.

However, it would not be good not to answer, so Master Jinhu considered his words and said, "His martial arts skills are not weak, but it is not necessarily true that he is better than us.

He has learned a lot of secret arts and has many methods, so you have to be careful when dealing with them."

Upon hearing this, Ran Yongzeng slapped his thigh and said, "In that case, I have a solution."

"you say?"

“One of the two masters can hold Chu Zhou back, while the other can lead the innate masters in my begging army to attack the city directly.

With the power of a martial arts master, I can clear the top of the city and then I can let the army catch up.

As long as we break into the city and advance step by step, it will only be a matter of time before we capture the entire Yanshui City."

Ran Yongzeng said this, and then said: "After all, Chu Zhou is just one person. As long as we fight for one or two hours, we will win."

But as soon as he said this, the red-haired old man directly rejected it: "This is impossible!"

"Why isn't it possible?"

The red-haired old man was somewhat speechless, but the Golden Fox Zen Master gave a very clear answer: "Do you think that the martial arts master's refusal to get involved in the battlefield of mortals is a joke?

We can skirt around it, but we can't really ignore it!

And let us attack the city directly?

You may think that our death was not quick enough!"

"Then don't kill people, just destroy the city wall. Breaking the city wall will be the same."

"Or not!"

Ran Yongzeng was anxious: "Master, it's already this time, don't bring up these rules.

who are we?

We are rebels, we kill people everywhere and eat human flesh. When have we ever cared about those rules?"

"Then have you ever thought that we can just go down and turn Yanshui City into ruins; but if Chu Zhou goes crazy, he can go straight into the Qihuo Army camp and completely destroy it.

By then, not to mention the ordinary soldiers, you will be the first to die."

Zen Master Jinhu paused, and then said, "Disciple, you must understand that some rules are to protect them as well as us."

"But if we can't take this city, we'll all die! We'll all die!"

Ran Yongzeng said this, but his mind finally became much clearer, and he seemed to have thought of something. He rolled his eyes and asked tactfully: "Master, I want to know, if you face Chu Zhou alone, how long can you fight him?"

"This one……"

Zen Master Jinhu didn't want to talk anymore. He glanced at the red-haired old man with an urging look.

The red-haired old man was reluctant, but he still organized his words and said, "We haven't fought many times, so Chu Zhou must have some cards that he hasn't played yet, but we haven't used all our abilities either.
If it's a one-on-one fight, with life and death at stake, the stalemate can last for a long time, but it can be decided in just a few moves."

Ran Yongzeng's face twitched. He understood, completely understood.

There are definitely rules and stuff, but at the end of the day, they are not sure of winning, so they will never face it alone.

In this way, the Beggar Army’s greatest advantage was gone.

"Cough cough..."

The red-haired old man quickly changed the subject and said, "Besides this, do you have any other good ideas? Tell us all and we will try our best to agree to them!"

Ran Yongzeng thought for a moment, finally looked up and said, "Two masters, how about we retreat?"

The red-haired old man: "..."

Young monk: “…”

……

It is impossible to retreat, no matter how hard you try!
It’s not that they want to save face, but the order from above has already been issued and there is no room for maneuver.

Although it is a cult, it is still thriving despite the relentless suppression of the orthodox sects, which shows that their organizational discipline is far superior to that of the martial arts sects.

But this time, it was an order jointly issued by the Red Lotus Sect Leader and the Black Moon Demon Lord. Who dared to neglect it? Who dared to ignore it?
Just thinking about the way their family treated the criminals, both of them shuddered even though they were martial arts masters.

At this time, Ran Yongzeng felt the helplessness of being deeply bound to the cult.

He has a clear understanding of his family's situation.

The army advanced deep into the enemy's territory alone and was blocked outside the pass. There was enemy territory on all sides. Because of the forced march, they carried limited food and fodder, and were unable to establish a logistical supply line.

Well, it’s useless even if it is established!
Because they had to cross the border between Botou County and Dongli County, the grain transport team could be attacked at any time, as if they were under the noses of Tiancangmen and Cao Gang.

In addition, the beggar army now only had ladders as siege equipment, and most of them were lost.

The Beggar Army did have other equipment such as battering rams, catapults, cannons, crossbows, etc., but they did not bring any with them.

Outside Yanshui City, the terrain is flat. Although there are trees, they are only as thick as bowls. Even if you want to make some improvisations, there are no good materials.

Taking stock of these disadvantages, Ran Yongzeng almost cried.

He knew clearly that under the current circumstances, if it was not handled properly, the entire army would be wiped out.

The red-haired old man and the young monk knew all this, but they didn't care!
They don't care even if this beggar army is destroyed as long as they can complete the mission.

Ran Yongzeng was powerless to change the decision of the two martial arts masters. Even though he was extremely angry, he could only swallow his anger.

However, although he had no inheritance, he was talented in warfare. After just one night of hard thinking, he realized that he had to make a change.

Since the previous strategy has failed and a quick victory is no longer an option, we can only fight a protracted war.

Therefore, his latest strategy was to expand the territory, prepare logistics, coerce the victims, manage the rear, and then slowly plan...

Of course, he didn't dare to rashly enter the heart of Tianquan County, nor did he dare to take a detour.

Yanshui City is here. If you rashly enter, you will be walking into a trap and seeking death.

But in addition to Tianquan County, there are also Dongli County and Botou County!
From Hongde County to Yanshui City, there are hundreds of miles in between. To the north is Botou County, and to the south is Dongli County. There are too many places that can be occupied.

As long as he attacked from both sides, plundered everywhere, and then connected with Hongde County, he would have a vast territory under his control.

This also gives us strategic depth, allowing us to move around in these four counties and delay time.

Yes, it is necessary to delay enough time so as to find a way to ask for help!

The beggars' army is not without backing. Tianyuan Prefecture was badly damaged and almost turned into a wasteland, but the various beggars who survived are also looking for a way out.

As long as he sent out messengers, or invited, bribed, threatened, or used spies, he could always trick more people into coming.

Of course, he is still secondary here. The most important ones are Xie Daoyuan, the left protector of the Pure World Red Lotus Society, and the Golden Fox Zen Master of the Xuanyue Sect.

These two are more anxious than Ran Yongzeng, so they have to give their all to complete the task.

Sending a letter for help to one's own sect is just one of the options. It is hard to say whether the two above are willing to send more people here!

But as martial arts masters for so many years, they are not without a network of connections. The friends of masters are also masters.

As long as they promise enough benefits and give enough favors, why would they be afraid of not being able to attract a powerful master?
Of course, these are nothing, the one they contact most is the 'Enemy of the King of Hell'!
Those old guys offered "bonuses", but "bonuses" were just inducements and means. The result was only when the task was completed.

In this way, they would not be able to give up this beggar army.

What is the biggest feature of 'Yanwang Di'?
It's not that they are famous, but that they have a deep foundation and can mobilize many resources. Any slight support can be a great help.

There is no doubt that for the sake of the mission and their own future, these two martial arts masters put all their efforts into it.

The city that felt this strategic change most obviously was Yanshui City, where the pressure on them to defend the city was decreasing almost visibly.

After the battle, a heavy rain turned the land outside the city into mud. The Beggars' Army rested for three days before organizing another siege.

During this siege, the people of Yanshui City naturally treated it as a formidable enemy and made all possible preparations.

But it felt like a punch on cotton. It didn't have much strength to drive the beggars away.

Those warriors had even less fighting spirit. They did not seek to achieve any merit but only to avoid making mistakes. They just made a few random moves as if they were acting.

As soon as the retreat horn sounded, they all withdrew, leaving cleanly and neatly without any delay.

This action confused everyone.

Even Chu Zhou originally wanted to have a big fight with the two martial arts masters.

As a result, they came, but that was all they came, standing high in the sky, watching from a distance, without any movement.

Chu Zhou was so unconfident that he didn't dare to take the initiative, for fear that if he went too far, his home would be robbed.

Initially, everyone speculated that there must be a problem within the Beggars' Army.

But more than ten days passed in a lukewarm manner before news came from the rear.

It turned out that the Qihuo Army sent two detachments to plunder Dongli County and Botou County.

The two counties are not as well prepared and strategic as Yanshui City, and the Tiancang Sect and Cao Gang do not have the final say of Xuanzhen Temple.

The result was that in just over ten days, several large cities and countless towns were captured, and countless amounts of food and people were looted.

They even completely opened up the road to Hongde County and transferred all the beggar soldiers who were originally left in Hongde County to the border area hundreds of miles away.

Facts have also proved that it was not that the Beggars’ Army had poor combat effectiveness, but that they encountered the Yanshui City which was painstakingly managed by Xuanzhen Temple.

In other places, they are still rampant.

However, there was no sign of a reduction in the number of personnel in the camp outside Yanshui City. In fact, the number of people increased due to the siege and conquest.

The beggars' army reorganized the group of disaster victims and began to drive them to attack the city like ants.

Of course, the intensity was still not high and many people died, but the pressure on Yanshui City was not great.

At this point, the battle entered a stalemate.

　Shamelessly asking for tickets!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)