The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 172: The spirit is declining and the will is declining
Golden weapons, iron horses, and black flags.

Wang Yanzhang rode in front of the army, and said with high spirits: "After ten years of bloody battles, you finally pacified Chao and Cai, and restored peace to the common people. It was really hard. Since the Tang emperor came to attack, the Hu horse peeked at Bian and left, and the peace of the country was gone. The capital has been in decline all the way here. Who is to blame? The Li family is to blame! Today, he is right in front of us. To eliminate injustice and cruelty, men should die in the frontier and be buried in a shroud. It is a shame for a real man to see the evil and poison and fail to eliminate it. I hope you can show courage worthy of your status!"

Is this the play "Sihang Warehouse"? It makes the blood boil. The guard Yin Hao next to him said to the general Han Jian: "I only know that Wang Yanzhang is a fierce general, but I have never heard that he is so sharp-tongued."

These words sounded righteous, but except for the Yulin Army that was brought with them, the Ruzhou soldiers did not buy it.

The troops were not in order, the soldiers looked dull and lifeless, and their brows were full of sarcasm. If the commander had not rebelled, how could the states in the Central Plains be in turmoil again? The fault lies with the Li family... I think it lies with the usurpers such as Jing Xiang and Kou Yanqing. If it weren't for these people, how could we have been put to death?
"If Zhu Sheng died earlier, the Central Plains would be at peace. He is a demon like Shi Siming and Qin Zongquan."

"Kill the evildoers? That's what I want to do. Commander Wang, lead us to Bianliang to kill them?"

"Yes, we must clear the court of corrupt officials! People like Li Zhen are causing chaos in the world, so kill them all."

“Don’t rebel, just punish the traitors.

"Yes. Then we lined up outside the Xingjiao Gate and beat the drums. The saint said that I was loyal and brave enough to die for the country, and I will definitely reward you handsomely."

"Your Majesty is the voice of the princes of Jin, Pu, Wei, Qi, Chu, Yan, Yun, Wu, and Jing. You may die at any time. Why are you still afraid of him?"

"Wang Yanzhang, stop making noises. None of us are new soldiers. If you can fight, then fight. If you can't win, you can take the Yulin Army back to Bianzhou and continue to be your general. I will surrender to Li Ni."

"." The morale of the Ruzhou soldiers didn't seem to be very good. Wang Yanzhang was speaking at the top, and they were talking at the bottom. They were whispering to each other, buzzing. Fortunately, when Wang Yanzhang took office, the Queen Mother sent him 3,000 Yulin soldiers. Seeing this, these killers didn't say a word, and went straight into the team with their scabbards, beating them, punching, kicking, and shouting, and quickly suppressed the noise. The Ruzhou soldiers were silent, standing there listlessly, like a pool of dark and dry water.

Wang Yanzhang's heart sank. In order to inspire fighting spirit, he had to hold his nose to whitewash Zhu Wen, and tempered his troops with patriotism and the disbanded bandits. Unexpectedly, everyone was very transparent. When things went well, they all supported Yulong and died for the king. After several setbacks, they blamed Zhu Wen for rebellion and wanted to draw a clear line with Zhu Wen.

"If we win, I will ask the Queen Mother for a reward of 100 strings of cash per person." He said after considering it for a while.

The Ruzhou soldiers then became a little more active.

Wang Yanzhang sighed secretly.

I'm sorry, Queen. The army is demoralized. If I don't give them extra money before the battle, they won't fight. Force them? I'm afraid they will rebel on the spot and turn against Li Ni. Such a battle is doomed to fail.

"Boom boom..." The passionate marching drums sounded like thunder.

The warriors were agitated, and the formation began to advance slowly. Wang Yanzhang led 3,000 Yulin soldiers and a group of miscellaneous soldiers in the center. The Yulin soldiers were all veterans with strong psychological qualities, fully armored, and skilled in technology. They should be the backbone.

Eight thousand Ru troops were on both sides of them.

The left and right outer wings of the Ru army were composed of nearly 6,000 troops, including Ding Shenqu, the commander of the Shanzhou formation, Han Jian, the commander of the assault, Shao Zan, the commander of the Heyang attack, and Liu Chongba, the commander of the Huaizhou. Obviously, Wang Yanzhang was playing tricks and nested the Ruzhou army in the middle. Zhang Xian, the commander of the left cavalry, Song Duo, the commander of the right cloud cavalry, Chen Lingxun, the commander of the right wing cavalry of the Guangsheng army, and Yin Hao, the commander of the cavalry, were deployed in the rear and waited for orders.

These were newly trained troops commissioned by Zhu Wen to serve in the Tabai Army.

Nearly 23,000 infantry and cavalry were all here. Only the sick, the artisans, the doctors, and the civilians were left in the camp.

Feng Xingxi originally wanted to send 10,000 people to join the battle, but Wang Yanzhang looked down on them. Don't be defeated after two or three rounds, and bring down the entire army - from the battle of Shouyang Mountain, it can be seen that the Li army is very tenacious, and the pampered Jin Shang soldiers are no match for them.

"Beep..." It was the exact time. Seeing the enemy, the Bian army blew the horn, stopped to form a team, and ate dry food to rest and replenish their energy while observing the enemy. The situation was similar to what the general said, but the Li army was slightly larger. More than 30,000 people were deployed on the green Juyang River, with red flags all over the field and armor shining in the sun, endless. Compared with the breath exuded by these people, the spring breeze was much gentler.

Zhang Xian rode his horse up to the mound, feeling a little dizzy. The increasingly hot sun shone from the east, illuminating the densely packed banners, armors, and spears fluttering in the distance with a golden glow. In the strict military formation, nine magnificent white dragon banners danced in the wind.

"Hiss... Why do they look like savages?" After watching for a while, Zhang Xian touched his chin and smacked his lips, his scalp tingling. Compared with the noise here, Li Jun could only describe it in one word: dead silence. Can military law alone achieve this? No way.

This... Saint, has really gained momentum. Zhang Xian's mind changed - he might have to hug his sister in the future... He should not scold her in private if he can. I just don't know if he can tolerate his nephew Youzhen... While Zhang Xian was wandering in the void, Chen Lingxun, Han Jian, Shao Zan and other generals were also in heavy moods.

The thieves are powerful!

The expressions of most of the Ruzhou troops were uncertain.

"This battle is hanging in the balance."

"If things don't go well, there's no need to fight to the death, just help Marshal Wang escape."

"We have to lose." The Yulin soldiers exchanged glances with each other, their chests thumping. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses filled the field, but they were like zombies in clay, silent as the abyss, without any sound. But the wind blowing through the trees and even the chirping of birds could be clearly heard.

"Only the armies of Changzhi and Luoyan can defeat them." In the silence, the general Han Jian whispered.

"Li Ni will not let the rebels go. If your majesty is defeated, you will be pigs and sheep to be slaughtered. Think about the evil army!"

"Everyone just follow the saint. After the traitor Li is killed, everyone will have an official position and concubines. There are thousands of concubines in the Daming Palace. There are all kinds of beauties." The officers realized that something was wrong and they all said the same words to stabilize the army and boost morale. However, they were drowned out after just a few words.

"Boom boom boom boom..." Without any warning, the deafening sound of drums surged over from the opposite side like a tidal wave.

"Kill, kill, kill!" Li Jun suddenly became furious and roared into the sky.

"The enemy is attacking!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Zhang Xian felt his legs go weak and his mouth dry. When did the Bian army get attacked? He looked at the turbulent battle array; the troops were mixed, the composition was complex, the generals had their own plans, and the commander had no prestige... He wanted to turn around and leave.

Li Jun approached quickly.

The vanguards carried gleaming spears, stirring up billowing dust and smoke, giving the illusion of riding on clouds.

The Ruzhou army, trapped in the middle, staggered and started to make noises. If there were no other troops to supervise them, they would probably have "collapsed without fighting" like the Shen Ce Army and the Tibetans.

"Kill, kill, kill!!!" Li Jun arrived a hundred steps away and started to curse and cheer. In the front row, there were the gorgeous central army in cloud-covered feathered clothes, barbarians with loose hair, shaved heads, and braids, and evil people with tattoos on their bald heads, all of them grinning and ferocious. "Go!" At the instruction of the saint, Lun Jiqiong and Ashina Luoxue escorted Huangfu Lin and hundreds of other cured Bian army prisoners to the front of the battle with bare chests and released them on the spot.

"What long sword and deadly dragon? That's it? You are just a piece of trash that we hung up."

"Go away, go back and practice your fighting skills, and don't let me let you go again next time."

"I was so blind that I was frightened by you pigs and dogs."

Amid the loud curses, Huangfu Lin and his companions, their cheeks burning, ran towards their own formation in a panic, shouting as they ran: "Don't shoot arrows, no, we are one of you, I am Xia Qiu, the third lieutenant of the left wing of the Long Sword Army."

"I am Luoyandu Zhuxi."

"Dai Siyuan, the tenth general of the cavalry of the hall."

"... "

But the incident was obviously too sudden. No one in the Bian army expected that Huangfu Lin, Xia Qiu, Dai Siyuan and others were still alive. Zhu Shengdu had been treated as dead in battle and their families had received compensation. Now the "dead" had returned. Isn't it embarrassing? Moreover, they were released in such a humiliating manner, and they were all members of the elite troops. Their already low morale was hit by this... They looked at each other in bewilderment and started to quarrel.

It's over! Wang Yanzhang closed his eyes in pain.

Queen, I, the guilty minister, must have failed to live up to your trust.

But the arrow is on the string and must be fired.

"Da da da." Wang Yanzhang's expression became firm and resolute. He urged his horse to take the lead and led the Yulin Army to approach the enemy.

If he died, he would die! He had been in battle dozens of times, so how could he still be greedy for life? The only regret was that he could not see the Queen again, how painful! His nose felt sore and tears flowed down. If Zhu Wen was defeated, the Queen would suffer a disaster again, which would be more painful than killing him.

The drums sounded again, and under Wang Yanzhang's example, the procession continued to move forward, "hesitating" like a formation of autumn leaves in a strong wind.

Seventy steps away, both sides picked up their crossbows and shot at each other. The "locusts" that streaked across the sky fell to the ground, exploding with a sound of pain, and the lush green ground was covered with black hair.

Forty steps later, a rain of arrows with doubled lethality came pouring down, shaking the Bian army's formation.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"The Yulin Army was defeated?"

"What? Wang Yanzhang has been beheaded by the rebels?"

"It's a mess, the Heyang soldiers are trying to escape. Du Yu Hou? Where is Du Yu Hou? Say something and take care of it."

"Beasts!" Zhang Xian, who was cruising on the right wing and ready to join the battle at any time, slapped his horse's back angrily. Are your men unwilling to fight to the death?
"Kill!" After twenty steps, Li Jun quickened his pace, and rushed forward with Mo Dao, Gu Dao, mace, and axe in his hands, roaring under the dense rain of arrows, and hacked at anyone he saw.

"Ah, it hurts."

"You good thief, I'll fight you!"

Ah, da da da da, they approached ten steps, and the front lines of both sides stopped in their tracks, defending their positions and striking their spears. Spears stabbed at each other, and as soon as they met, blood and flesh flew everywhere.

"Oh... don't poke me, beat your mother..."

"Poof, my head."

"Let the Yulin Army fight. They are the imperial guards. Let's go."

"Let's go! We are soldiers from other states and counties. We have received no benefits from Zhu Wen, and we don't owe him anything."

"Well, let's just surrender Emperor Li."

"Those who turn around will die!" The officers and imperial guards ran around, caught the shifty-looking soldiers, and slapped them. Those who dared to resist or talk back were killed on the spot without a second word.

"Don't panic!" Wang Yanzhang didn't care about breaking into the enemy's formation anymore, and turned his horse back to the main formation.

The first wave of Li's army charged, and the Bian people were on the verge of collapse. The Ru troops on both sides of the Yulin Army were beaten into a terrible bend, and their performance was even worse than that of the Tibetans in Jincheng.

On the high platform, the saint who was watching the battle in the blinding sunlight said calmly: "The people of Bian are losing their energy."

I still remember the Battle of Tongguan. Zhu Ni mobilized soldiers from various states to fight one after another, aggressively, and did not need to be spurred on. It has only been two years, and their spirits have degenerated to this point; I wonder what the situation is like for Zhu Wen's main force. The "Bianliang Imperial Army" was created by Zhu Wen himself. Its prestige and interest alliance are enough to support him to fail seven or eight times. There may not be any outrageous accidents for the time being, but it is hard to say about the messy foreign army.

Some cowardly troops, such as the Ruzhou Army, fought passively and perfunctorily.

The tougher ones, such as the Yicheng Army, were jealous of the treatment of the Konghe Army and rebelled and marched towards Kaifeng.

If Zhu continues to suffer such humiliation, it would not be surprising for the saint to receive news that he has died in the chaos of war one day.

Being overthrown by the lower is the mainstream of the times.

　Quick, vote, vote. I was addicted to beauties, feasts, and entertainment, and I didn't realize it was too much. How could it be so? I have come to my senses and ordered the Secretariat to draft a self-criticism.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)