mtl008 Chapter 209 Number of Enemy Troops
Chapter 209 Number of Enemy Troops
Zong Yanli's eyes lit up slightly as he listened to Zong Yanfeiyi's words, and he also smiled.
She then asked about Qian Zhixing and was surprised to learn that Qian Zhixing was also married. She had no idea about this at all.
"You've been suffering so much on the battlefield that you couldn't even get the letter in." Zong Yanfeiyi looked at Zong Yanli, his eyes full of admiration and pride, and laughed, "Qian Zhixing often asks about you, which shows that he cares about you."
"It's just that I didn't know he was married." Zong Yanli felt a little ashamed and didn't prepare any gifts.
"These are all small matters." Zong Yanfei said with a smile that they would make up for it later.
Then he asked about the situation in the army. Zong Yanli gave a general explanation and asked Zong Yan Feiyi to have a good rest today and discuss it in detail tomorrow. After Zong Yan Feiyi agreed, he went to see Zong Yan Hongjing.
When Zong Yanfeiyi heard about Zong Yanhongjing's illness earlier, he was also very worried. Fortunately, Zong Yanhongjing's condition has improved in recent days. As the weather gradually warms up, he is in much better spirits and can even help Zong Yanli deal with military affairs.
Although Zong Yanli didn't want his father to work hard for this, Zong Yanhongjing couldn't sit idle at all.
“General!” Zong Yanfeiyi had just left when Zong Yanli saw Sang Caijie coming hurriedly. His face was full of surprise and he said, “I just got the news that Mr. Zhuang from Jin State has passed away!”
"What?" Zong Yanli was stunned, raised his eyebrows and looked at Sang Caijie and asked, "When did it happen?"
"It's been a few days since Mr. Zhuang left quietly. I heard that Yi Tiangan was very angry about this and almost broke with the State of Jin." Sang Caijie said quickly: "Now they are looking for him all over the world. Maybe they suspect that Mr. Zhuang has joined our army. Many more spies have entered the pass in the past few days."
Zong Yanli didn't expect that seeing that the Lu army had arrived and the two allied forces were bound to become stronger, would Zhuang Chengbi leave under such circumstances?
She pondered for a moment, looked up at Sang Caijie and said, "Go now and find a way to find Zhuang Chengbi before the enemy."
"If my guess is correct, he must have returned to his hometown in Nankang." Zong Yanli thought for a moment, then turned to Gao Feilin and said, "Go and ask Mr. Wujiu to come over."
"Yes." Gao Feilin agreed and turned to leave.
In a moment, Zhan Haoyue came over.
After entering the tent and greeting Zong Yanli, he asked, "General, what is the important matter that you called me here for?"
Zong Yanli raised his hand to signal Zhan Haoyue to take a seat, and then told him that Zhuang Chengbi had left Jin State. He then said, "Since you two are old friends, I think you can talk to each other. Now the situation has changed, and Mr. Zhuang has a small reputation in Jin State."
"I want Mr. Wujiu to do me a favor and go to Nankang in person." Zong Yanli said seriously, "It would be best if we can convince Mr. Zhuang to join our army."
"If you can't convince them..." Zong Yanli paused and said nothing, obviously weighing something. After a while, he said, "If you can't convince them, persuade them to move away from Nankang, so as to avoid being found by enemy assassins and being killed."
Zhan Haoyue was also surprised to hear that Zhuang Chengbi had left Jin State. Although the two were old friends, it was not surprising that they were separated and served different masters.
Even those brothers who came from the same school would one day meet each other on the battlefield, let alone them?
When Zhan Haoyue recommended Zhuang Chengbi to Jin, he thought that if one day Zhuang Chengbi became famous in Jin and bowed to the Jin leader and was willing to live in Jin, he would not feel regretful. Perhaps he would be more sincerely happy that his friend had found the lord he wanted to follow.
If that day really comes, even if we become enemies, isn't it also a kind of meeting a worthy opponent?
In the past, we played chess, but now we are soldiers and horses, fighting for the land of the world!
They never feel sorry for it.
"General, I will do my best to persuade him to return to you." Zhan Haoyue leaned forward and lowered his head. Since Zhuang Chengbi would leave Jin at this moment, Zhan Haoyue had some guesses about his intentions based on his understanding of this old friend.
"Okay." Zong Yanli nodded, looked at Zhan Haoyue with a firm gaze and said, "I'll wait for your good news here."
Zong Yanli asked Sang Caijie to send more people to search for Zhuang Chengbi's whereabouts. If Zhuang Chengbi returned to his hometown in Nankang, he would have entered the territory of Daqian and would have left traces.
After all, we are in Daqian territory, and it is much easier to find people than the enemy.
Zhan Haoyue hurriedly packed his bags and set off for Nankang. If Zhuang Chengbi returned, he would go there first and wait for him so that he could see him first.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zong Yanli received a letter from home, as well as a lot of underwear and knee pads sent by his mother and sister, and even a large stack of insoles. Many words in the letters were full of concern and care, and his mother also expressed her concern for his father's aging health.
"Father." Zong Yanli found Zong Yanhongjing and said, "There is something I want to ask you, Father."
"My adopted son is growing up and is now old enough to learn martial arts." Zong Yanli paused and said, "It is difficult for you and me to teach him in a battlefield. The martial arts teacher we invited can only teach him a few things."
"My son means that he wants mother to take Guanghe to learn martial arts from his second uncle." Zong Yanli thought for a long time. Now all the men in the Zong Yan family are generals outside, and only Zong Yanhongtu is guarding Changfeng County, so he still has the energy to teach.
There is another reason why Zong Yanli had this idea. Seeing that his father is getting older, how good is his second uncle?
My father still has a wife and children by his side, but my second uncle is still alone.
She sent Zong Yan Guanghe to Zong Yan Hongtu to learn martial arts, which was also a form of companionship.
When Zong Yanhongjing heard Zong Yanli's words, he agreed with them and wrote two letters, one to his home in the capital and the other to Zong Yanhongtu in Changfeng County.
Not long after the Lantern Festival, Zong Yanli finally heard the news that the enemy army was approaching Shanping Pass. The garrison stopped outside the Juqu River. It seemed that a storm was about to come. The surrounding people who heard the news had already moved their families before the end of the first month of the year.
There was a bit of rain in the wind, and the chill made people shiver.
Zong Yanli came back from inspecting the troops and entered the tent with muddy feet. He felt warm with his helmet and visor on.
"The number of enemy troops is too large. If they press on, our army will be unable to resist." Pei Liang said with a serious look of concern.
"The trenches are being built overnight, and the construction of catapults is also being expedited." Kuang Xingquan said immediately.
"Go and urge them again." Zong Yanli frowned slightly and walked to the main seat to sit down. Before he could even sit down, he heard the sound of drums beating in front of him. The messenger general raised the flag high and reported: "General! The enemy has crossed the river and is here to challenge us!"
Zong Yanli suddenly stood up, his eyes slightly gloomy, and immediately summoned his troops to fight the enemy.
The two armies confronted each other outside Shanping Pass. Zong Yanli stood on the reviewing platform and saw with his own eyes that the two enemy armies were clearly divided, with one side carrying the flag of the Northern Kingdom and the other side carrying the flag of the Lu Kingdom.
Seeing the huge number of heads, Zong Yanli felt a little depressed and couldn't help but clench the long sword at his waist.
Yi Tiangan and Baines sat on the same podium. They seemed close but each had his own ideas.
"General, you know that I have suffered heavy casualties among my troops, so it will be hard to find an enemy." Yi Tiangan said with a fake smile, "It would be a shame if we lose the first battle."
"So let General Bei's men fight in this first battle." Yi Tiangan immediately pushed the job to Beines.
"General Yi, what you said is not true. You have so many brave generals under your command. Losing a few of them is just a bunch of small soldiers." Baines frowned slightly, as if he was dissatisfied with Yi Tiangan's attitude of giving up. He said in a deep voice: "My subordinates are new here and are not familiar with the enemy's generals."
"It's even more dangerous to rush into the first battle. If we lose, it will be bad for both you and me." Baines snorted.
"..."
Neither of them was willing to step forward. Finally, Yu Jinghui, who was standing behind them, spoke up and persuaded the two generals to draw lots to decide which side would go first in the initial battle.
Although Yi Tiangan and Baines looked down on Jinghui, a general of the Jin State, they could not think of any other solution at the moment and finally decided to adopt it.
Yi Tiangan was lucky and did not get the chance to fight the first battle. He smiled and said to Baines, "It seems that the winner of this battle will have to be a soldier under General Bei's command!"
At this point, Baines did not shirk responsibility anymore. He turned around and called out, "Pupingliang, let's get Quya under your command!"
The man standing on the left side of the back immediately stepped forward and responded respectfully: "I obey your orders!"
The enemy army had already gone to battle, and Zong Yanli saw that the person going to battle was completely unfamiliar, so he knew that the general must be a general of the Lu army. Zong Yanli thought about it and turned to look at Long Feiguang and said, "General Long's two brothers, which one of you is willing to fight for me?"
As Zong Yanli finished speaking, Yan Yingshan and Zhu Jin both stood up and said in unison, "We are willing to go!"
"Yingshan, let your sixth brother go." Long Feiguang smiled slightly, took the initiative to speak and pointed at Zhu Jin and said, "Didn't you say a few days ago that you practiced a trick to defeat the enemy?"
"Go, let the general have a good look." Long Feiguang raised his chin. Zhu Jin was delighted when he heard this and immediately responded loudly, "Yes! I will go and get the enemy general's head right away!"
Zhu Jin turned around, mounted his warhorse, and rode out to meet the enemy.
The young boy from the past has grown a lot. He has fought in countless battles along the way. His sharp edges have been smoothed out, and his arrogant aura has turned into a more stable strength. He knows how to advance and retreat and observe the enemy's momentum. Zong Yanli can even see a glimpse of an older man from the spear style used by Zhu Jin.
After a brief thought, Zong Yanli felt relieved. No one in the army could use a gun better than Wen Nian. Zhu Jin had once asked Wen Nian for some advice.
Everyone saw that Zhu Jin was fighting very bravely, and they were evenly matched after several rounds. When the battle was tense, they suddenly saw Zhu Jin being stabbed and running away. Qu Ya was so excited that he would not let him get away, so he spurred his horse to chase him.
Pu Pingliang, who was concentrating on watching the battle, suddenly changed his expression and cried out inwardly, "Not good!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the defeated Zhu Jin seize the opportunity, suddenly turned around and shot back, and Qu Ya was suddenly stabbed in the throat before he could react!
"Great! What a great counterattack!" Seeing Zhu Jin defeat the enemy with one blow, the generals cheered in surprise.
"Ah!" Baines slapped his thigh in anger. Qu Ya was fooled by such an obvious pretense of defeat and lost his life in vain!
Zhu Jin rode back on his horse, his eyes showing some joy but without the high spirits of the young victorious youth. He bowed his head and said, "I am glad that I have fulfilled your mission!"
Zong Yanli nodded with a smile in his eyes and said, "This counterattack was very beautiful."
Zhu Jin grinned. Our army cheered and boosted morale after winning the first battle. Unfortunately, we lost the second battle and the general who went out to fight returned wounded. We won the third battle again, although it was only a narrow victory, it was enough to boost morale. The enemy army was defeated and seemed to have no desire to fight anymore.
"Haha! We had a great time fighting today!" Long Feiguang was overjoyed. He patted Zhu Jin on the shoulder and said, "If it weren't for my sixth brother's first victory in the first battle to boost morale, it wouldn't have been so satisfying."
"Fifth brother, don't blame your eldest brother. You will be the one to go to the battle next time." Long Feiguang said, turning his head to Yan Yingshan.
Yan Yingshan smiled and nodded in agreement, and threatened to take the enemy's head and present it to his elder brother and the general.
The atmosphere in the tent was very heated. Zong Yanli took two sips of tea from the tea bowl, then raised his hand to signal everyone to take a seat. He then said, "Bearns has many brave generals under his command, but there is only one person you need to pay attention to, and that person is Kan Shi, a rare brave general."
"Pu has also heard of this man." Gongsun Pu, who was sitting next to him, immediately spoke up, "It was said at the beginning that there are less than five people in the world who can be as good as the general."
"This Kan Shi is one of them." Gongsun Pu said, looking at Zong Yanli, and bowed slightly, saying: "Even my eldest brother was defeated by this man."
"..."
As Gongsun Pu finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Long Feiguang.
Long Feiguang, who had just been beaming with joy over the victory of the Jin Dynasty, froze when he heard Gongsun Pu's words that exposed his past without hesitation. Facing the gazes from all directions, he gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes, I can't defeat him."
I don’t know how many years have passed.
At that time, Long Feiguang was still recruiting soldiers and had just met Gongsun Pu, but had not yet made friends with the other brothers.
After fighting everywhere, he fled to the north and arrived in Liaodong and Lu State, where he met Kan Shi and fought with him. It was a fierce battle, and in the end, Long Feiguang was defeated and even driven away by Kan Shi, who said that if he saw Long Feiguang entering the north again, he would kill him!
This was probably the first time that Long Feiguang was defeated so miserably since he went into battle. He was even being chased like a wild dog!
Long Feiguang really didn't want to mention that past, but no one expected it...
The two met again and it turned out to be like this.
Zong Yanli was also very surprised. He didn't expect that Long Feiguang had fought with Kan Shi.
She sat up straight and asked, "How much does General Long know about this person?"
"I don't know much about it." Long Feiguang shook his head. That was many years ago. He was still young and energetic, and they had only fought once. He couldn't really say that he knew him well, but he had to admit that this man was really powerful.
"General Long, what do you think the general's chances of winning against Kan Shi are?" Pei Liang asked with raised eyebrows.
"Hmm..." Long Feiguang thought for a moment and said, "If it was Kan Shi back then, he might not be able to defeat the general, but now more than ten years have passed..."