"…General, the urgent report from the imperial department of war has arrived."

I don’t know how long it took, Wei Mingyuan’s voice rang outside the tent.

Feng Qingyun, who was slumped on the ground, finally came to his senses and said in a hoarse voice: "Please bring it in."

A few seconds later, Wei Mingyuan came in and saw the general sitting on the ground with disheveled hair and disheveled clothes, his face as if he was dead, as if he was waiting for the death row prisoner to be executed by Qiu Hou. How could he have the style of a commander in the entire army with great power?

Since leading the army to the war, the adopted son of the Prime Minister has not shown any praise. Now that the food and grass have been burned, it has ruined all the hope in his heart.

Whether he was willing to admit it or not, the battle to combat the rebellion in Jingzhou was completely failed. Even if Feng Qingyun, who was dismissed from his post and humiliated the country, would not have any chance of turning around in his career in the future. The Chief Aunt admitted more than a dozen adopted sons, but he was not inferior to him as an incompetent guy.

He sighed in his heart and continued to speak: "General, the matter has come to this point, please take care of yourself. Tens of thousands of soldiers in the army are still counting on you!"

Feng Qingyun showed a smile that was even worse than crying: "I am a general, I'm afraid I won't be a general for a few days. If I had known that Zhao Ni was so difficult, I shouldn't have taken on this job at the beginning. Now that I am like this, how can I go back to meet my foster father?"

"No, General, things have a turnaround."

Wei Mingyuan quickly said: "The Ministry of War wrote that in view of the great difficulties in Wu Zhence's situation, the bandit army seriously threatened Jinling, and recently he intended to become king. Therefore, the court decided to let all the troops in the south set off immediately to the Huaiyang area and join forces to encircle and suppress Wu's rebels."

"The remaining food and grass in the camp can last for one or two days. As long as we set off and withdraw our troops immediately after dawn, we retreat to Lingwu County, 300 miles away, and at the same time, we will be ordered to lead the troops there to carry the food and grass halfway. These tens of thousands of troops can be guaranteed to be lost."

Feng Qingyun looked slightly stunned. He thought it was possible and his face finally improved.

The order from the Ministry of War was indeed too timely. As long as you were not restricted to Jingzhou and fought with Zhao Yuanjin, things would turn around and previous losses could be tried to cover up.

"Okay, I'll inform the entire army to be evacuated. I'll set off immediately as soon as the sky is dawn. I don't want to stay in this hell anymore." Feng Qingyun sighed.

It’s not that he was so afraid. Zhao Yuanjin’s performance was really too evil. He obviously looked like a small prince and was too weak to mention. However, he won many battles and suppressed the imperial army without any temper.

As soon as the sky was dawn, the camp became lively.

Under the constant urging of the officers, tens of thousands of soldiers set off after breakfast. Some of the too bulky and difficult-to-transport weapons and materials were discarded without bringing them. How convenient it is.

Moreover, before setting off, in order to prevent Zhao Yuanjin from leading his troops to pursue him, Feng Qingyun ordered five thousand soldiers to be left to be responsible for cutting off the rear. Of course, they were all people who were not very much in opposition to him.

When it was dawn, Zhao Yuanjin learned of the retreat of the imperial army. Sure enough, he led his army out of the county town to see if he had any chance to get some bargains.

Standing on the position of this governor, the imperial army suffered such a great loss and then evacuated hastily. They pursued themselves. Even if they could not swallow all the tens of thousands of soldiers in one breath, they had to bite off a large piece of meat from the other party.

As a result, someone soon reported: "Master, the imperial army opposite the dynasty sent envoys to ask for advice, saying that they wanted to surrender."

Zhao Yuanjin was a little surprised, but he still agreed to summon him.

"We are willing to surrender, and we hope that the governor will ignore his past grudges and take us in."

The messenger was a young guard general. He didn't talk nonsense after meeting and bowing to the ground. He explained his purpose straightforwardly.

Zhao Yuanjin said strangely: "The difference in military strength between you and me is not big, why are you willing to surrender without using one knife and one shot?"

"Our general is not the direct line of the chief assistant old thief, and he is unwilling to flatter the incompetent Feng Qingyun, so the bastard makes things difficult for us everywhere. This time we ordered us to leave the rear, and we didn't leave any food or grass, which was clearly meant to let the brothers die! Who would still be willing to work hard for him?" The fierce general of the guard said angrily.

Zhao Yuanjin nodded slightly: "Since that's the case, okay, I accept your contribution."

So the five thousand imperial troops changed their flags and changed their flags, and joined Zhao Yuanjin's team. After being disbanded, they were mixed into various battalions, and officers above the guard generals would be temporarily isolated and managed.

This is a necessary preventive measure. Although Zhao Yuanjin believes that they surrender sincerely, they still cannot save what they should do. Only after a period of time and confirm that there is no problem will they truly trust and reuse it.

"Lord, Feng Qingyun still has more than 20,000 people. Should we continue to pursue him?" Song Wu asked.

Zhao Yuanjin pondered and said without saying anything. Sun Xiangqing next to him smiled and said, "It was originally necessary to pursue him, but now it seems that it is better to leave a way out for him."

Su Mu echoed: "Yes, Wu Zhence is becoming increasingly powerful. If these 20,000 elite troops in the Beijing camp are put there, they can cause more trouble for him. It would be best if he can fight with the imperial army and both sides will be hurt. We will take the opportunity to develop in Jingzhou. The safest and most beneficial approach is to take advantage of the opportunity to develop."

Through inquiry of surrendered generals, the latest intention of the imperial cabinet was no longer a secret. The armies from the south gathered in the Huaiyang area one after another, preparing to work together to encircle and suppress Wu Zhence. The troops located in various prefectures are probably ordered to set off.

This analysis is reasonable and no one has any objection to the generals. Zhao Yuanjin smiled and made a decision: "Okay, let the entire army rest for ten days, and then advance to Shangyang County."

"As the external troubles are gone, the lord's great cause is expected!" Sun Xiangqing sighed.

Now Zhao Yuanjin's power at hand is far better than the past, and there is no court army staring at him. He has basically no strong enemy in Jingzhou, so he can let go of expansion.

Although the court is gradually declining, there are still more than 100,000 troops in the south. As long as the troops are united, the pressure on Wu Zhence can be imagined. Even if this guy really looks like a hidden dragon, it is not ordinary difficulty to break this dead end.

Therefore, in the next six months to one year, it is a rare "strategic opportunity period" for Zhao Yuanjin. As long as you make good use of this time difference and grow and seize as much territory as possible, you will have the capital to compete for the world.
Chapter completed!