Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 492 Accepting the Surrender of Six Prefectures (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"kill!!"

"put!"

"Defeated? Who said they were defeated?!"

On the sixth day of the third month of the second year of Qianfu, when news of the Battle of Yecheng reached Youzhou, Zhang Gongsu, who was leading his army to fight against Cao Mao, immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Damn it! This Li Honggui, who was known as a valiant general of Chengde, was completely wiped out!"

Zhang Gongsu held the military report in his hand, the veins on his forehead bulging, his whole face tense like iron, even the beard on his cheeks trembled slightly.

The generals on the left and right were also somewhat at a loss. After all, the news of the three towns joining forces had spread far and wide, and the memorials from each town were spreading like paper in all directions. Even the people of Youzhou couldn't help but feel that the imperial court would be forced to send reinforcements by the three towns.

As a result, in less than two months, the so-called three towns were severely damaged by Liu Jilong in Yecheng.

Li Honggui's self-proclaimed army of 100,000 men was wiped out in less than half a month, from the moment they marched south to their complete annihilation.

"Li Honggui, you dog and rat, you scoundrel who has misled me!"

Zhang Gongsu cursed inwardly. He had thought that the three-town coalition could defeat Liu Jilong, which was why he seized the opportunity to launch an attack on Cao Mao.

With the war at its most intense, the south is experiencing a rapid collapse. Isn't this putting Zhang Gongsu in a very difficult position?
Amidst the cursing, Zhang Gongsu looked up at the battlefield and saw Jixian standing in the distance, with defensive fortifications such as chevaux-de-frise, trenches, sheep and horse walls, and enemy watchtowers filling the area in front of Jixian.

The five-foot-high sheep and horse wall, the ten-foot-high rammed earth watchtower, and the five-foot-wide official road with barricades—it was practically a miniature city wall.

Just like now, nearly ten thousand infantrymen are in formation, with tens of thousands of elite cavalry flanking them on the left and right.

On the main battlefield, the Han army and the Lulong army were entangled in battle. Compared with the Chengde and Weibo armies, which had not engaged in regular combat for more than ten years, the Lulong army was undoubtedly of higher quality. However, this was only in comparison with the Weibo and Chengde armies.

The Lulong army, which has been engaged in pacification warfare with the Xi and Khitan people for many years, is now suddenly facing tens of thousands of people cooperating in combat. Although they are not completely overwhelmed, small mistakes are occurring one after another.

In comparison, the Han army, which had been engaged in high-intensity warfare for the past seven years, appeared to be operating in an orderly manner.

Even though many soldiers were recruited and trained for less than two years, the platoon leaders, squad leaders, brigade commanders, captains, lieutenants, and other officers and captains who commanded them were all lucky survivors of high-intensity warfare.

They may not know how to win, but they know how to protect themselves and ensure the survival of their soldiers.

This is why, despite being besieged by nearly 20,000 Lulong infantrymen, the mere 7,000 infantrymen fought quite well and even managed to push back the Lulong vanguard.

Zhang Gongsu dispatched Youzhou cavalry several times to attempt to flank the Han infantry, but they were all repelled by Cao Mao's command of Geng Huan and Zhang Jian.

Today is the fifth day of their battle. In the first four days, Zhang Gongsu suffered more than two thousand casualties, and it looks like another thousand or so will be killed or wounded today.

In comparison, the Han army also suffered many casualties, but they were by no means seriously injured.

"Of the more than 35,000 men, nearly 4,000 have already been killed or wounded. The morale of the entire army is low, and even if we continue fighting, we may not be able to take Ji County."

Zhang Gongsu was lost in thought. He looked down at the military report in his hand and realized that he had indeed kicked a hornet's nest this time.

"Sound the retreat and withdraw to Luxian..."

Seeing that the casualties were considerable and that Liu Jilong in the south could move north at any time, Zhang Gongsu had no choice but to retreat.

Seeing this, the left and right military commanders and their generals could only reluctantly give the order, while the flag bearers kept waving their command flags and striking their gongs to send messages.

After receiving the military order, the Lulong army, which was unwilling to continue fighting the Han army, began to retreat. The Han army did not pursue them, but instead reorganized its troops under Cao Mao's command and took turns resting.

"Liu Jilong, the dog and rat, how did he train his soldiers?!"

Seeing the Han army's orderly formation from afar, Zhang Gongsu felt seven parts envy and three parts jealousy.

No matter how envious or jealous he was, at this moment, the only option left for him was to withdraw his troops. Otherwise, once Liu Jilong went north to join forces with Cao Mao, he would be the one surrounded.

"withdraw!"

Zhang Gongsu turned his horse around and, unwilling to give up, shook the reins and rode away, while the generals behind him ordered the troops to retreat and follow.

"They've retreated! They've retreated!"

"Woohoo..."

Seeing Lu Long retreat, Geng Huan, who had been fighting in the battle for a long time, couldn't help but laugh heartily, raised his lance, and shouted continuously.

Not only him, but all the Han soldiers couldn't help but cheer after seeing Zhang Gongsu withdraw his troops.

The siege of Ji County was lifted, but Cao Mao's brows remained furrowed, because he didn't know whether Zhang Gongsu was planning to rest and regroup before attacking again the next day, or whether he had other plans.

"Send out cavalry to follow them and see if they are retreating to their camp to rest or if they have other plans."

"Yes!"

The left and right captains received the order and then relayed the message to Geng Huan's elite cavalry, who then dispatched their own elite cavalry to follow him.

However, Zhang Gongsu did not easily let Cao Mao see his intentions. Instead, he left more than a thousand cavalrymen to serve as cavalrymen, thus cutting off the possibility of the Han army's cavalrymen following behind.

Seeing that there was no hope of finding out, Cao Mao did not continue the stalemate, but instead ordered his army to retreat to the camp inside Yangma Wall to rest.

"Zhang Gongsu withdrew his troops two hours earlier than usual today, either because of too many casualties or because something happened elsewhere."

Cao Mao strode into the tent, sat down in the main seat, and drank the cold tea in one gulp.

When he turned around again, Geng Huan and Zhang Jianhui, along with the Han army and Lu Long and other generals, had taken their seats.

"How many soldiers have been killed or wounded today? How many troops are still able to fight?"

Cao Mao's words froze the atmosphere in the tent. Geng Huan bowed first and said, "One hundred and seventy-nine people died in battle, forty-two were disabled, and ninety-seven were wounded and urgently needed to recuperate."

"Currently, those who can go into battle number about 4,400 cavalry and 4,200 infantry and cavalry, totaling more than 8,600 men."

Upon hearing this, Cao Mao looked at Zhang Jianhui, who bowed and said, "Today, 357 brothers were killed or wounded, and 186 were injured."

"Currently, those who can go into battle number about four thousand cavalry and one thousand eight hundred infantry, totaling five thousand eight hundred men."

As soon as the two finished speaking, Cao Mao subconsciously began to make plans in his mind.

If today is included, then it has been a full five days of fighting, and they have suffered nearly two thousand dead and one thousand six hundred wounded.

It must be said that the cavalry of Youzhou still maintains a fairly good fighting strength. Based on what Cao Mao has seen on the battlefield these past few days, Zhang Gongsu's troops have suffered no more than five thousand casualties.

The military governorships like Lulong, which were engaged in constant external warfare, were indeed much better at combat than other military governorships.

For this reason, Cao Mao did not choose to fight Zhang Gongsu directly, but instead gradually wore down Zhang Gongsu's strength.

He did this mainly because the Han army was insufficient in number. Although there were nearly 15,000 soldiers, only more than 8,000 of them were Han soldiers.

If the Han army were to be completely wiped out, he could not guarantee that Zhang Jianhui's troops from Lulong would not develop disloyal intentions.

Although the more than 20,000 troops in Guizhou are currently tied down by the Xi people, Cao Mao believes that they will be able to defeat the Xi people soon.

Once the Xi people are defeated, most of the more than 20,000 troops in the west can be transferred eastward, and that will be the time for him to defeat Zhang Gongsu.

As he was thinking this, sure enough, the sound of rapid, dense hoofbeats came from outside the tent.

As soon as everyone looked at the tent flap, it was immediately lifted, and the officer in charge of controlling the cavalry quickly bowed.

"Governor, our army's Commandant Dou, Commandant Chen, and Military Envoy Li report a great victory! On the second day of the third month, they annihilated 30,000 Xi and Hu troops at Hubi Mountain. The Xi and Hu troops were thrown into chaos and fled north. We beheaded more than 5,700 enemy soldiers and captured more than 3,800 horses. A great victory!"

"it is good!!"

Seeing the result he had been hoping for arrive, Cao Mao quickly stood up and cheered, and the tense atmosphere in the tent suddenly disappeared.

"Military order: Chen Bingwen and Li Maoxun shall lead the elite cavalry and nearly 10,000 infantrymen eastward. After capturing Changping, leave 3,000 infantrymen behind, and gather the rest of the troops in Jixian!"

"Yes!"

Cao Mao calmly gave the order to the other general, who immediately responded and then got up and left the tent.

After he left, Cao Mao looked at everyone and laughed heartily, "Without the Xi Hu entanglement, Zhang Gongsu will have to turn his feigned retreat into a real one!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Laughter filled the tent. At this moment, they were unaware of Liu Jilong's victory over the combined forces of the three towns in Ye County, but they already had the confidence to defeat Zhang Gongsu.

Cao Mao ordered wine and meat to be brought out, and soon the aroma of meat filled the tent, making the soldiers outside swallow their saliva.

The following day, Zhang Gongsu withdrew his troops to Luxian and also withdrew all the cavalry that had surrounded Jixian. He then deployed heavy troops to defend Wuqing, Liaoxi, Huairou, Luxian, and Huichang counties.

This behavior clearly indicated that he intended to wage a protracted war against Cao Mao, and Cao Mao was not willing to back down.

After confirming Zhang Gongsu's withdrawal, he mobilized troops to capture Changping, Guangping, Guzhu and other counties.

The counties west of the lake and north of the Sanggan River were thus divided up by the two men, creating a standoff.

During this period, news of Liu Jilong's complete annihilation of the three-town coalition in Yecheng also reached Jixian from Hedong, which greatly boosted the morale of the army. At the same time, Li Maoxun, Li Keju and others, who were originally not obedient, also became obedient.

Meanwhile, news of the outcome of the Battle of Ye City began to spread from north to south.

The previously unsettled city of Luoyang was instantly calmed by this news, and many forces dissatisfied with Liu Jilong disappeared. However, Zhang Ying continued to investigate Wei Zhaodu's matter.

In contrast to the seemingly peaceful Luoyang, Wang Shi and Chen Jingchong, upon learning the news, continued to try to persuade the cities of Zibo and Qing to surrender.

Ge Congzhou and Zhang Guiba remained unmoved, while Li Yangchun, upon receiving the news, immediately withdrew more than 7,000 troops from the Yellow River front lines, including Puzhou and Yunzhou, and then headed towards Sishui.

Li Yangchun's movements immediately alarmed Zhu Wen, but when Zhu Wen led his army to Fei County, he saw Li Yangchun's letter of surrender before he even saw Li Yangchun's troops.

"Defeated...defeated?"

Inside the Feixian government office, Zhu Wen held Li Yangchun's letter of persuasion to surrender. As his Adam's apple bobbed, he felt the tightness in his chest almost dissipate.

"An army of 100,000 was defeated just like that?"

Zhu Wen trembled all over, not from fear, but from anger.

His idea of ​​establishing his own independent regime was shattered at this moment. It was only a matter of time before Liu Jilong pacified the four northern towns. At that time, with his meager strength, he would be no match for Liu Jilong at all.

"Should we surrender?"

The idea suddenly popped into Zhu Wen's mind; he knew that now was undoubtedly the best time to surrender.

But he was unwilling to give up, because if he surrendered, it would be tantamount to handing his life over to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong would not allow him to leave the town; it is more likely that he would give him a sinecure and confine him to Luoyang.

When the time comes, the bird will be caged, but Zhu Wen is only twenty years old and has a long life ahead of him.

If he is to be imprisoned like this and live a life of idleness and waiting to die for decades, it would be better to kill him.

But if he were to lose his life, he couldn't bear to...

Zhu Wen held the letter, his expression changing repeatedly, until he saw the uneasy-looking soldiers from Yanhai at the entrance of the yamen, and then he realized what was going on.

"If news of the defeat in Hebei were to reach us, these officers and soldiers in the town probably wouldn't be so obedient..."

Zhu Wen's expression shifted, then he gritted his teeth: "Paper and pen, I need to write a letter!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers quickly fetched paper and pen, but Zhu Wen felt as if the brush in his hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He forced himself to finish writing the letter, suppressing his resentment. Then, as if resigned to his fate, he sealed the letter with sealing wax and handed it to the soldier in front of him.

"Send this letter by fast horse to Li Yangchun in Yanzhou. I have done him such a great service, he should fight for me."

Zhu Wen had clearly put forward some conditions, but he himself was not sure whether Liu Jilong would agree to them.

If Liu Jilong doesn't agree to his conditions, he'll have to find another way; in short, he'll never be a caged bird.

The soldier took the letter, turned around and quickly walked out of the yamen. Soon after, he handed the letter to a fast horse and asked it to take it to Yanzhou.

The next day, when the letter was delivered by fast horse to Sishui County, Li Yangchun had already gathered 20,000 troops there, ready to march east to Yizhou at any time.

After the letter arrived, Li Yangchun opened it in front of all the generals, read it quickly, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"This Zhu Quanzhong, even with the current situation, still wants to bargain with me."

He casually handed the letter to the captain next to him, asking the captain to pass it on to everyone.

Tan Kai, Deng Yan, Liu Song, and others took the papers and examined them, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhu Wen's letter contained only two conditions, but each one challenged the bottom line of the Han army.

First, Zhu Wen was allowed to leave his post as military governor, and second, his organizational structure was not disrupted.

If Li Yangchun agrees to these two conditions, then he will probably squander the reputation he built up during the Battle of Yanzhou.

Thinking of this, Li Yangchun chuckled and said, "No need to pay attention to him. Since he is not sincerely surrendering, there is nothing more to say."

"The army will continue to recruit laborers. Once the required number of 40,000 laborers is reached, the army will march east to Feixian. I want to see what other tricks Zhu Quanzhong has up his sleeve."

"Yes!!" The generals bowed and then left the yamen.

Li Yangchun had given up on the idea of ​​persuading Zhu Wen to surrender, and after waiting for two days, Zhu Wen roughly guessed Li Yangchun's thoughts.

Seeing this, he could only grit his teeth and summon his trusted confidants. With a gloomy face, he instructed them: "Release carrier pigeons and send out fast horses to find a way to let Ge Dalang and Zhang Dalang know the news, so that they can lead their troops to retreat into Lushan and then head south from Lushan to Yizhou."

"This subordinate obeys the order." The confidant bowed and acknowledged the order, then nervously withdrew from the yamen under Zhu Wen's gloomy expression.

Watching his departing figure, Zhu Wen's face trembled slightly as he clenched his teeth.

The Han army had only 20,000 troops in Zibo and Qingzhou, while Ge Congzhou and his men had nearly 20,000.

If they want to break through, they certainly can, but there will definitely be many casualties.

Zhu Wen originally planned to take advantage of the defeat of Liu Jilong by the three towns of Hebei and then seize back the entire Pinglu region by relying on Zibo and Qingzhou. Now that the three towns of Hebei have been defeated, it is only a matter of time before Lulong is also defeated.

If he doesn't take this opportunity to withdraw Ge Congzhou and his men, he will definitely not be able to hold Yizhou and Haizhou.

Even if the casualties are heavy, as long as Ge Congzhou and Zhang Guiba can be withdrawn, he will still have a chance to continue his efforts.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wen couldn't help but think of Gao Pian in the south, and at the same time, the news that had come from Jiangnan in recent days kept flashing through his mind, and a slightly mocking expression appeared on his face.

"How many casualties?"

Inside the Zhongling County government office in Hongzhou, Gao Pian, unaware that Liu Jilong had already annihilated the combined forces of the three towns in Yecheng, was now questioning the person in front of him with a gloomy expression.

Looking at Gao Pian's expression, Kuang Shiqian continued bowing nervously and tentatively said:
"No fewer than 10,000 were killed in battle. Commander Liang was wounded, and Yao's troops were killed in battle. The main army has now withdrawn to Raozhou, and Chizhou has been occupied by Yang Xingmin."

Upon hearing this, Gao Pian trembled all over. Kuang Shiqian looked at him with concern, but Gao Pian managed to hold on and just took a deep breath.

On the 25th day of the first month, Liang Zuan and Yao Guili led an army of 30,000 from Qiupu in Chizhou to attack Xuanzhou.

Upon learning the news, Yang Xingmin personally led nearly 10,000 troops into Chizhou territory and engaged in battle with Liang Zuan and Yao Guili in Qingyang.

The two sides fought for three days. On the third day, Yang Xingmin's troops were routed and fled to Nanling. Liang Zuan and Yao Guili saw this and led their troops in pursuit.

When the army was pursuing Nanling, Li Shenfu, who had been lying in ambush along the way, led 5,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on Liang Zuan. Yang Xingmin also led his troops back to attack.

Liang Zuan was wounded, Yao Guili died in battle, and nearly half of the 30,000-strong army was killed or wounded, forcing them to retreat hastily.

Yang Xingmin pressed his advantage and occupied the entire territory of Chizhou, forcing Liang Zuan to retreat to Raozhou wounded.

Thinking of all this, Gao Pian couldn't help but clench his fists in his sleeves, but he still suppressed his temper: "Where is Wang Lang..."

"Wang Jieshuai led his army eastward into eastern Zhejiang, but Qian Liu, a general in eastern Zhejiang, led 20,000 troops to garrison the key routes of Changshan and Xujiang. Our army could not break through by force and suffered thousands of casualties."

Kuang Shiqian kept a close eye on Gao Pian's condition, while Gao Pian, upon hearing that his 70,000-strong army was unable to advance eastward, couldn't help but laugh in exasperation:

"Seventy thousand troops could not enter, yet I cannot even conquer two mere towns. Wouldn't I become a laughingstock to the world?"

“Your Majesty, please don’t say that,” Kuang Shiqian quickly reassured him.

"Although our army failed to conquer the prefectures and counties in Jiangnan, Cai Xi of Annam has already surrendered to our army, so our army no longer has any worries about the rear."

"As long as Your Majesty leads your army eastward, capturing Song Wei and Dong Chang will be a piece of cake."

Kuang Shiqian's words did manage to rouse Gao Pian's spirits somewhat.

The main reason for the setback in this attack was that he underestimated Song Wei and Dong Chang. If he had personally led the army to attack, he would not have been afraid of failing to capture Jiangnan.

Thinking this, Gao Pian took a deep breath: "Has any news come from the north?"

Kuang Shiqian knew what Gao Pian wanted to ask, so he quickly said, "News just came a few days ago that Chengde, Weibo, and Zhaoyi have formed a 100,000-strong allied army and have now surrounded Liu Jilong in Xiangzhou."

"Liu Jilong has only 20,000 troops. Even if he manages to break through this time, he will likely suffer heavy casualties."

"Good!" Upon hearing that Liu Jilong had also suffered a setback in his campaign against the various towns in Hebei, Gao Pian's previously somewhat distressed mood immediately lifted. "Issue the order to transfer 20,000 troops from Jiangbei and Hunan. I will personally lead 20,000 troops eastward to Quzhou."

"I want to see what tricks these Dong Chang, Song Wei, and Yang Xingmin have up their sleeves to stop my army!"

Gao Pian regained his spirits, and Kuang Shiqian, seeing this, quickly bowed and said, "King Gao is personally leading a large army; a few petty villains will certainly not be able to withstand him."

"This humble official hereby congratulates King Gao in advance on his pacification of the two bandits in Jiangnan, bringing peace to the people of Jiangnan!"

Faced with Kuang Shiqian's flattery, Gao Pian couldn't help but nod, and then issued an imperial edict.

The Bohai Navy, which had been depressed due to setbacks, quickly regained its morale after learning that Gao Pian was about to personally lead the expedition.

Although Gao Pian suffered a loss at Liu Jilong's hands, he was only defeated by Liu Jilong; he was invincible against other forces.

This is why the morale of the Bohai Navy was immediately boosted after Gao Pian chose to lead the expedition in person.

Gao Pian was unaware that Liu Jilong had already led his army north to deal with Zhang Gongsu, the last of the four towns in Hebei that still possessed the strength for field battles.

"Greetings, Your Highness..."

After a ten-day trek, Liu Jilong finally led his troops to the confluence of the Yongji Canal and the Sanggan River on the northern border of Cangzhou.

Husiguang, along with Ma Yi, Gao Huai, and five thousand elite cavalry, greeted Liu Jilong at the camp gate.

Liu Jilong, who had arrived weary from his journey, did not dismount. He merely surveyed Husi Guang's five thousand elite cavalry before bracing himself and saying:

"You've come from afar and are exhausted, so don't bask in the sun outside the camp. Let's go inside first."

"Yes!" Husiguang and the others bowed and then walked into the camp with Liu Jilong.

There were many laborers in the camp, and the entire camp was set up according to the standards set by Liu Jilong in his early years, so there were no problems.

The group passed through the camp, dismounted in front of the command tent, and went inside.

Inside the tent was a sand table that included the three towns of Yiwu, Yichang, and Lulong. The wooden flag also showed the estimated troop strength of various counties and prefectures in Lulong, as predicted by Husiguang and his team.

Liu Jilong glanced at the scene and saw that 120,000 troops had already gathered in Lulong territory, of which 40,000 were Cao Mao and Zhang Jianhui, and the remaining 80,000 were Zhang Gongsu's troops.

"Is this all the people who support Zhang Jianhui?"

Liu Jilong was surprised that out of so many troops in Lulong, only a little over 10,000 chose Zhang Jianhui, while the rest chose to support Zhang Gongsu.

Seeing this, Hu Siguang looked somewhat embarrassed: "It's rumored in all the towns that our army is very harsh on its generals and soldiers, therefore..."

After his explanation, Liu Jilong understood what these people were thinking.

They weren't supporting Zhang Gongsu; rather, they supported whoever opposed them.

After all, supporting others is at most being driven, but if one were to occupy Lulong, all the generals and soldiers of Lulong would suffer.

"That's good. There are fewer people who need to be appeased, and the rest can be suppressed with troops."

Liu Jilong didn't take Zhang Gongsu's so-called 80,000 men seriously. The 80,000 men were just a figure on paper; the real fighting force was the more than 40,000 men left behind by Zhang Yunshen.

Moreover, Zhang Gongsu and Cao Mao have been fighting for a long time, and there should be quite a few casualties. The elite troops that I need to deal with may not even be 40,000.

"Has there been any news from Cao Mao?" Liu Jilong asked.

“Yes!” Husiguang responded, then pointed to the area west of Ji County and said:
"Shortly after you defeated the three towns, Zhang Gongsu learned of the news and retreated to Luxian, where he stationed troops in Luxian, Liaoxi, Wuqing, Huairou, Huichang and other places."

"Cao Langjun now occupies Guzhu, Changping, Guangping and other counties west of Ji County. He has joined forces with Zhang Jianhui with 40,000 troops and just repelled the invasion of the Xi and Hu tribes."

"Of the 40,000 troops, nearly 15,000 were stationed in Guizhou to guard against the Xi and Hu tribes from continuing their southward advance. Only 25,000 troops could be mobilized, including more than 13,000 elite cavalry."

After Husiguang's explanation, Liu Jilong roughly understood the current situation in Youyan: "He is preparing to gather troops in Youzhou and fight us to the death."

Despite this, Liu Jilong had a smile on his face. He wasn't afraid of Zhang Gongsu setting up a stronghold and fighting a protracted battle; he was just afraid that this fellow would lead the Youzhou cavalry to run around aimlessly.

In this light, Zhang Gongsu was nothing more than a clown, lacking the skills of Shi Siming, Li Huaixian, Zhu Ci, Zhang Zhongwu, and even Zhang Yunshen.

No matter how formidable the Youzhou cavalry were, they needed a capable general to command them to achieve their full potential; Zhang Gongsu was clearly just a brave general.

"The imperial edict orders that the main army will break camp and advance westward tomorrow, and that Wang Jian lead 8,000 troops to attack Ying and Mo prefectures, and that 5,000 troops from Qi prefecture be transferred north to garrison Cang and De prefectures."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Husiguang accepted the order first, and then spoke:

"Your Highness, this means that only five thousand troops will be stationed in Cangde and Dezhou. If Chengde and Weibo attack..."

“They can’t come, and they don’t dare to come out,” Liu Jilong interrupted.

The entire 60,000-strong allied army was wiped out, and Lu Kuang of Zhaoyi was powerless to even protect himself. Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Chengde and Weibo was such that they were probably busy fighting each other now.

They cannot attack Cangzhou and Dezhou until their internal struggles are resolved.

Moreover, An Pohu's more than 20,000 troops are preparing to attack Weibo, so Le Yanzhen should hold off An Pohu first.

Five thousand troops are enough to defend against Chengde Town, where seventy or eighty percent of the field troops have been lost.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong felt a little tired, so he waved his hand to dismiss everyone and rested in the tent.

The following day, the army, under the command of Liu Jilong, broke camp and marched westward, while Wang Jian also received an imperial edict to recruit laborers and wait for the troops stationed in Qizhou to march north.

On March 17, Liu Jilong led 8,000 elite cavalry to blockade Laishui, cutting off Zhang Gongsu's connection with Ying and Mo prefectures south of Laishui.

The fast horses sent south by Zhang Gongsu were pursued by the elite cavalry of the Han army and could only escape back to Huichang, where they reported the matter to Zhang Gongsu.

Zhang Gongsu, who was stationed in Luxian County, received the news the following morning.

"He did indeed head north, but he only brought eight thousand cavalry?"

Inside the Lu County government office, Zhang Gongsu was somewhat unsure of Liu Jilong's methods, or rather, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty when facing Liu Jilong, who had just won a great victory.

He couldn't even handle Zhang Yunshen, let alone Liu Jilong.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have switched from offense to defense.

While Zhang Gongsu was unsure, Chen Gongyan, one of his top generals, spoke up:

"Liu Jilong cut off our army's connection with Mozhou and Yingzhou, probably in order to attack Yingzhou and Mozhou."

"General, don't forget that Liu Jilong still has a lot of troops in Cangde and Yiding prefectures, while our army has 20,000 troops in Yingzhou and Mozhou, but they are all new recruits who have been enlisted for less than a month, and there are less than 5,000 veterans."

"If Liu Jilong is truly determined to attack, then the two prefectures of Ying and Mo will likely..."

Before Chen Gongyan could finish speaking, a colonel rushed into the yamen and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Commander, Military Commissioner Shi Yuanzhong has rebelled and surrendered Fanyang City to Liu Jilong!"

"What?!" Zhang Gongsu suddenly stood up, his face filled with disbelief.

Shi Yuanzhong was his partner, and just a few days ago they had been exchanging letters and talking happily. Now, however, he had surrendered directly to Liu Jilong, which made Zhang Gongsu feel a sense of defeat.

Not only him, but Chen Gongyan and others in the yamen also looked rather grim.

Shi Yuanzhong's surrender meant that nearly 10,000 troops in Fanyang had sided with Liu Jilong. Even though these troops were mostly new recruits, it was enough to severely damage them.

More importantly, if even the impregnable Fanyang has surrendered, then the surrounding cities are likely in even worse shape.

"General..."

Sure enough, as time went by, within two hours, news kept coming from the surrounding counties of Fanyang.

The counties that were already afraid of Liu Jilong saw that Shi Yuanzhong had surrendered to Liu Jilong, and they all followed suit and defected to Liu Jilong.

Zhang Gongsu felt he shouldn't have transferred all the garrison troops to his side. If there were enough garrison troops in the area, they certainly wouldn't easily support someone like Shi Yuanzhong to defect to Liu Jilong for the sake of their future power and wealth.

However, Shi Yuanzhong and others are all new recruits, and these new recruits don't have much property to worry about. On the contrary, after Liu Jilong pacifies Lulong, he will likely distribute land to them.

From this perspective alone, it was only natural for the new recruits to defect, and Shi Yuanzhong was simply taking advantage of the situation to join them.

"Asshole..."

Zhang Gongsu no longer relied on the prefectures and counties south of the Sanggan River, but he still had many generals from Ying and Mo prefectures under his command, and in order to appease them, he still had to put on a show.

"Prefect Chen, you will lead five thousand elite cavalry south tomorrow. You must open up communication between our army and Yingmo Prefecture. Do not let the brothers in Yingmo lose heart!"

"Yes!" Chen Gongyan could roughly guess Zhang Gongsu's thoughts, so he cooperated.

As expected, all twelve counties south of the Sanggan River in Youzhou, except for those with garrison troops like Huichang and Wuqing, surrendered to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong ordered Cao Mao to divide his troops to take over the counties, and then ordered Husi Guang to lead his army to repel Chen Gongyan, who was trying to move south.

Chen Gongyan didn't actually intend to head south; he was just putting on a show, so there weren't many casualties on either side.

After learning of Chen Gongyan's attitude from Husiguang, who led his troops back to camp, Liu Jilong, who was stationed in Xinchang County, understood Zhang Gongsu's thoughts.

"It seems they are going to abandon Yingzhou and Mozhou."

Inside the simple Xinchang County government office, Liu Jilong began to explain to Husiguang and the others.

Upon hearing this, Husi Guang impulsively said, "Your Highness, with our army and the more than 30,000 troops under Lord Cao's command, defeating Zhang Gongsu is not difficult. Why not take advantage of the situation and join forces to attack?"

Faced with his statement, Liu Jilong was not in a hurry, but simply said, "The army doesn't have much gunpowder left, and the last seven thousand catties of gunpowder have been given to Wang Jian to attack Ying and Mo prefectures."

"We cannot rush things now. We need to wait for the gunpowder from Kansai to arrive via the canal before our army can move north."

In just over six months, a series of major battles had depleted the Han army's gunpowder reserves to almost nothing.

Nowadays, the only option is to continuously produce gunpowder in Linzhou and transport it to Hebei by land and water.

As for Wang Shi and the troops of Chen Jingchong and Li Yangchun, they could only obtain gunpowder supplies after Liu Jilong pacified Hebei.

However, as long as Hebei can be pacified, the remaining three towns north of the Yangtze River will not be a concern.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong was about to continue discussing how to besiege Zhang Gongsu when a captain strode into the yamen and bowed to Liu Jilong in the hall, saying, "Your Highness, Minister Wang has sent a message by fast horse."

"At midnight on March 13, the Ziqing rebels broke through the encirclement and headed south towards Lushan. Our army pursued them for more than 20 li and captured 4,622 enemy heads. Ziqing was recovered."

"They broke through?" Liu Jilong's face showed a hint of surprise, but he quickly returned to calm.

He had seen maps of Zichuan City and Yidu City. The two cities were only five or six miles away from Lushan to the south, and there were dozens of roads leading into Lushan, most of which were opened up by Kang Chengxun to besiege Pang Xun.

In addition, because Liu Jilong had transferred Han troops from Qi and Lu to participate in the war in Hebei, Wang Shi and Chen Jingchong did not have enough troops at their disposal.

Given all these factors, it's not surprising that Ge Congzhou and Zhang Guiba were able to break through, nor is it surprising that they succeeded.

However, given their steadfast defense of Ziqing, Ziqing remains impregnable, and there is no need for them to break out.

Since they chose to break out with heavy casualties despite the city's strong defenses, it can only mean that someone ordered them to do so.

"Screw rustle..."

Just as Liu Jilong calculated that Zhu Wen had Ge Congzhou and the others break through the encirclement, hurried footsteps came from outside the yamen.

Another captain entered the yamen, his face also very solemn.

He stopped outside the main hall and quickly bowed to Liu Jilong inside: "Your Highness, Commander Li has sent a messenger on horseback with news."

On the seventh day of the third month, Li Jieshuai led an army of 20,000 to attack Yizhou, while Zhu Quanzhong stationed several thousand elite troops in Feixian.

"Understood." Hearing the captain's words, Liu Jilong finally connected all the dots.

Li Yangchun first gathered troops to attack Yizhou. After learning the news, Zhu Wen was probably worried that he could not hold the city, so he ordered Ge Congzhou and Zhang Guiba to break through the siege.

Judging from their current situation, even if they successfully break through, they probably won't have many troops left.

With this small force, Zhu Wen probably wouldn't be able to stop Li Yangchun.

However, just in case, Liu Jilong still gave instructions to the two captains in front of him:

"An imperial edict was issued to Li Yangchun, instructing him to proceed cautiously and steadily, and not to underestimate the enemy or advance rashly."

"The imperial edict ordered Minister Wang and Commander Chen to join forces and attack Muling Pass, together with Li Yangchun, to launch a two-pronged attack on the Yanhai Army."

"The last general takes command!"

The two agreed, and seeing that Liu Jilong had no further instructions, they left the yamen.

After they left, Liu Jilong looked at everyone in the hall and then told them his analysis.

"There's no need to worry about Zhu Quanzhong. No matter how many tricks he has up his sleeve, if he's not strong enough, he's not strong enough."

Liu Jilong calmly reassured everyone, and was about to say something when he saw the captain who had just left the yamen turn back.

Interrupted several times, Liu Jilong couldn't help but frown slightly: "What happened?"

"Your Highness, Governor An has sent word that Xiangzhou and Weizhou have been recovered, and Le Yanzhen has retreated to Weizhou. Our army will soon be able to enter Chanzhou."

"In addition, Lu Kuang, the military governor of Zhaoyi Army, has been summoned to the capital. Cui, the garrison commander, is leading the Hedong Army to recapture Luzhou and is currently sending troops to Xingzhou, Mingzhou, and Cizhou."

Upon learning that Zhaoyi had surrendered and Anpohu had recovered the two prefectures, Liu Jilong's initial slight discomfort vanished instantly, replaced by pure joy.

"Great!" he couldn't help but exclaim, then addressed the crowd:
"With Zhaoyi's surrender, our army quickly recovered six prefectures. If we can also recover Ying and Mo prefectures, then only eleven prefectures and counties in Hebei will be in the hands of the rebels."

Before anyone could react, Liu Jilong looked at the captain and continued to issue orders;

"The imperial edict ordered Gao Jinda to appoint Lu Kuang, the military governor of Zhaoyi Army, as the Left Attendant Gentleman of the Palace. All officers and above in Zhaoyi Army were granted honorary titles with no change in rank. All officers and soldiers were dismissed. The land in Zhaoyi Prefecture was to be distributed equally among the people."

"The imperial edict ordered Anpo Hu to surrender. If Weibo wanted to surrender, it was necessary to disperse its soldiers and demote both the military governor and his generals by one rank to allow them to retire with honors."

"If they do not surrender soon, then order An Pohu to emulate the Battle of Yecheng and exterminate them all!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" The captain quickly replied and then left the yamen.

He left in a hurry, clearly misunderstood by Liu Jilong's frown earlier.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Jilong felt somewhat embarrassed, but quickly recovered and instructed Husiguang and the others:
"The gunpowder from Kansai will be transported north to Youzhou via the Grand Canal by early April at the latest. We must not miss this opportunity."

"Furthermore, an order was issued to all counties that surrendered, stating that all Lulong soldiers who surrendered, as long as their official rank was below Liexiao, would not have their land confiscated."

"For all those ranked as colonels and above, the government will pay to redeem them, ensuring they do not suffer any loss."

"This is the regulation for surrendering soldiers. All state soldiers and local guards shall follow this procedure."

To deal with Lu Long, Liu Jilong's plan was naturally to divide and conquer.

Lulong Town has a small population and is located on the frontier, making it a place where there is no other option to relocate.

Now that Zhang Gongsu has caused so much trouble, it can be said that the entire population is now a soldier, and there is absolutely no need to confiscate land from ordinary soldiers.

If the land of the generals and officers can be redeemed, and then re-divided through surveying and registration, that would be enough to solve the problem of Youzhou.

Youzhou was Liu Jilong's base for his future advance into Liaodong. The population here could not be moved; it was best to preserve it as much as possible.

As for the arrogant atmosphere, it's easy to change. At worst, we can just suppress it a few more times and send the offending soldiers and their relatives to Liaodong in the future.

In addition, people can be relocated from densely populated areas, and this can be continued for more than ten years to suppress the corrupt practices in Lulong.

The current martial spirit has not yet reached the perverse level of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Things like cannibalism were nipped in the bud by Liu Jilong.

The martial spirit at the end of the Tang Dynasty was relatively easy to deal with, but if it were like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, even Liu Jilong would probably have had a headache.

With these thoughts in mind, Liu Jilong glanced at everyone and, seeing that no one had any objections, dismissed them.

He went to rest in the main hall, while Ma Yi and Gao Huai followed Husi Guang outside.

The three men were initially silent, but as they left the yamen and mounted their horses to head to the military camp, the silent Gao Huai spoke up first:
"It seems that Hebei will only be stabilized in the next few months."

"If Your Highness resolves Hebei, then the remaining Huainan, Xusi, and Yanhai will be much easier to deal with."

"Gao Pian in the south is a defeated general of our army, and dealing with him will be a piece of cake."

"Governor, if someone in the court were to urge His Highness to ascend the throne, would he accept it after the pacification of Hebei?"

As soon as Gao Huai finished speaking, Ma Yi turned to look at him, clearly not expecting him to say such things.

"I don't care about any of that. Your Highness can do whatever you want."

Husi Guang answered without turning his head. Gao Huai's eyes flashed with a strange light, but he did not ask Ma Yi and just nodded to himself.

"If that's the case, then this subordinate understands..."

(End of this chapter)