Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

He then asked those around him, "Since Lei Wanchun is here, where is Nan Jiyun?"

Wang You replied, "Nan Jiyun is guarding Bozhou for Li Ji, and perhaps he hasn't arrived yet due to the long distance." Xing Caojun shook his head and said, "I fear he will lead the troops of Bozhou eastward to plot against our Cangzhou and Di..."

Xu Shi expressed his doubts: "The army can be divided, and the strength should be gathered together. The troops of Wei and Bo provinces are at most 40,000, which is half of ours. How dare they divide their troops again?"

Xing Caojun bowed to Tian Chengsi and reminded him, "Our main force is in Jizhou. Cangzhou and Dizhou are just a few garrison troops. Moreover, the land is barren and the cities are small, so they are not difficult to take. However, the money and food in all the towns are not plentiful. Although the court said that it would transport the grain from Huainan to the north, it is unknown when it will arrive. Li Ji may order Nan Jiyun to advance on Cangzhou and Dizhou and seize our supplies to provide for ourselves. We must be on guard."

The four prefectures under the jurisdiction of Tianxiong Army resembled a semicircle. The western wing consisted of Ji and Ying, with vast and prosperous land, while the eastern wing consisted of Cang and Di, with mostly mudflats and swamps and less arable land. In fact, Cangzhou was originally a large prefecture, but after Tian Chengsi took over the garrison, he nominally left the prosperous land west of Yongji Canal untouched, but actually handed it over to Yingzhou for administration. As for the coastal areas, he only sent troops to control the salt fields to extract profits from salt production, and ignored everything else—because he couldn't manage it all.

As a result, the treasuries of Cangzhou and Dizhou were not much money or grain, but they were full of salt. If these were to be looted by the government troops, it would be a great loss.

He then asked Xing Caojun, "Who can go to rescue Cang and Di?"

Xing Caojun suggested, "Kang Yin is very brave; he might be able to rival Nan Jiyun."

Chapter Twenty, Commander Qin is Mighty

The Tianxiong Army repeatedly sent superior forces to attack the left flank of the government army, but all attempts failed. This was not only due to Lei Wanchun's bravery and the well-trained Weibo cavalry, but also because Li Ji would intensify his frontal attacks whenever the left flank was threatened, forcing Tian Chengsi to refrain from focusing all his efforts on the northern front.

The battle raged until the afternoon, when the soldiers were exhausted and returned to their camps to cook and rest. At the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), the battle resumed. Tian Chengsi changed his strategy, sending Xing Caojun with a surprise attack on the right flank of the government forces—specifically, the camp of Wu Shun's army—while the two armies were engaged in a direct confrontation.

Qin Rui led 7,000 Wu Shun soldiers and spent most of the morning watching the excitement. Apart from fighting a couple of battles with the more than 1,000 soldiers of the Central Liaison Department in coordination with friendly forces, the right flank remained as safe as Mount Tai.

However, compared to Li Ji, Qin Rui was far from idle. He personally rode his horse to observe the battle from the front, sometimes charging forward and sometimes running back, never stopping. During the midday break, he discussed with his generals and officers: "The Weibo army is indeed fierce and brave. They have fought against the Tianxiong army for half a day without showing any signs of defeat—and in my opinion, they seem to still have strength to spare."

General Wei Bian chimed in, “I think both armies have spare capacity. Otherwise, regardless of our army, the Tian family’s troops are three times the size of Weibo’s. If we were to send them all, I don’t believe Commander Li could defeat them. We can only retreat to our camp and defend it with fortifications.” This was because Li Ji had once ordered him to lead troops in a fierce attack on Xindu City. Although he ultimately didn’t actually fight due to the drastic change in the situation, he still harbored some resentment.

To be honest, the soldiers of Wu Shun's army were one thing, but as for the officers and generals, there were very few who did not resent Weibo. This was because Li Ji had wantonly confiscated the land of wealthy households in his jurisdiction and even expelled them from the country. Many scholars went to Beizhou and joined Qin Rui's staff. In their mouths, there was certainly no good thing about Weibo. Perhaps only a few former officials like Guo Mo were unaffected.

Therefore, Wei Bian subconsciously hoped that if the entire Tianxiong Army were to be deployed and decisively defeat the Weibo Army, they could seize the pontoon bridge and escape to the south of the Zhang River... At least that would be much more secure than being forced to go into battle as a burden. Of course, he dared not utter such despicable thoughts aloud, nor even allow them to surface in his mind.

He merely expressed his doubts. Given the enemy's superior numbers, the Weibo army must have reserved fresh troops for unforeseen circumstances and dared not commit their full strength. Why then was the Tianxiong army unwilling to send their entire force? Could there be some kind of scheme involved?

Guo Mo analyzed: "Since our reinforcements are still on their way, even if Tian Chengsi breaks through Weibo here, if the losses are too great, he will be unable to fight against Hedong and Zhaoyi, and will only be able to retreat to Wuqiang. Therefore, in the first battle, he dared not exert his full strength, but only wanted to find the weak points of our formation so that he could strike with thunder."

Qin Rui nodded: "What you say makes a lot of sense, sir."

Actually, Guo Mo was only half right. Tian Chengsi was indeed wary of the Hedong and Zhaoyi armies, but if he couldn't quickly defeat Weibo and Wushun, the situation he would face would only become more perilous once the government forces assembled. Therefore, Tian Chengsi's original intention was to achieve an initial victory as soon as possible, even at the cost of manpower losses. Unfortunately—his strength was insufficient.

Li Ji held back, only exerting half his strength; Tian Chengsi, though not giving it his all, must have used seven or eight tenths. The problem was that the more than 10,000 garrison troops of Weibo were almost all elite and strong, while the nearly 50,000 troops of Tianxiong Army were mixed with quite a few second-level battalion commanders—the same level as the Weizhou auxiliary army.

If they were to crush the enemy on the battlefield and pursue the fleeing enemy, these second-tier battalion commanders might be able to demonstrate first-class strength; however, when elite troops were engaged in fierce battles, sending them up would only cause chaos, needlessly exposing weaknesses for others to exploit. Therefore, the Tianxiong Army actually only had a little over 20,000 men taking turns to fight, yet they were unable to successfully defeat the enemy in front of them.

In addition, the fighting on the left wing, led by Lei Wanchun, was also quite fierce. However, due to the distance, Wu Shun's army did not have a direct sense of the situation and thought it was just a minor skirmish. This shows that Tian Chengsi did not exert his full strength.

However, Qin Rui became wary and asked his men, "Could it be that Tian has left a trick up his sleeve, intending to break through from the right flank?" Guo Mo nodded and said, "It is very likely—if they can defeat our army and burn the pontoon bridge, their retreat will be cut off, and Weibo will be defeated without being defeated. Commander, you must be cautious."

Qin Rui laughed loudly, "I've been idle all morning and my hands are itching for a fight. It's good that the Tianxiong Army dares to come; they can test my spear!"

Although Wu Shun's army was not large in number and not particularly elite, the area they had to defend was narrow, and they could still form a fairly solid formation in front, so Qin Rui was not afraid. He was only worried that the soldiers might be somewhat tired and lose their vigilance after standing for a whole morning, so he ordered them to reorganize in the afternoon, placing the most elite and morale-boosting battalion at the front—the generals appointed were Wei Bian and Lu Ziqi.

As expected, around noon, Xing Caojun led five battalions to attack the right flank of the government army. They immediately clashed with Wu Shun's army, swords and spears clashing, blood and flesh flying everywhere. Compared to the main battlefield, this battle was, in some ways, more intense, because Qin Rui and Tian Chengsi had both served under Shi Chaoyi and knew his strengths and weaknesses, understanding his opponent's preferred tactics.

Tian Chengsi was very skilled at commanding cavalry, and the Tianxiong Army's territory also produced fine horses—although in far fewer numbers than those of Chengde, Youzhou, and Hedong—Xing Caojun had a cavalry battalion that galloped across the battlefield like the wind. In contrast, Qin Rui excelled at commanding infantry—actually because he couldn't afford many warhorses—his infantry formations were extremely solid and tight, and he possessed hundreds of long-handled swords, specializing in the art of frontal defense against cavalry.

The Tianxiong Army was like an indestructible blade, while the Wushun Army was like an impenetrable shield. In the end, the outcome of their clash would depend on the soldiers' tenacity and the generals' on-the-spot command.

Xing Caojun, as expected of Tian Chengsi's top strategist, after two failed attempts to break through Wu Shun's army formation, retreated slightly and requested the addition of one battalion each of infantry and cavalry. He then led the infantry to engage the enemy head-on, while he personally led the cavalry, undeterred by the rugged riverbank, and plunged straight in along the water's edge.

Facing Wei Bian's defenses, he had indeed neglected the defense of the riverbank—believing it to be narrow and rugged, making it difficult for the enemy to advance—but little did he expect that for Xing Caojun, his oversight could completely compensate for the difficult road. Thus, one flank of Wu Shun's army was breached, soldiers retreated in droves, some even deserting. Wei Bian was forced to draw troops from the front to reinforce, but this left his frontal forces insufficient…

As if a sharp blade had struck the edge of a strong shield, the shield, though not pierced, was struck with such force that it naturally tilted to one side.

The critical situation of Wu Shunjun was quickly reported to Li Ji, who hurriedly ordered two battalions of fresh troops to join the front lines and put pressure on the enemy in the central battlefield. At the same time, he sent an envoy to inquire of Qin Rui: "Do you need to send reinforcements?"

Qin Rui flew into a rage: "Save him, my ass!" He reached out, and a soldier handed him a spear, which he grabbed firmly. He roared, "I, the commander, will personally go into battle to kill a few of these Tianxiong bandits and turn the tide!"

The commander personally led a hundred elite cavalrymen to the front lines, greatly boosting the morale of Wu Shun's army, which finally managed to stabilize their position. Immediately afterwards, Qin Rui took the lead, charging out and heading straight for the enemy's banners. With each thrust of his spear, Tianxiong cavalrymen fell from their horses, and he found himself without a single enemy to fight him.

Xing Caojun was long past the age of recklessly leading from the front and risking his life for wealth and honor. He was originally in the middle of the cavalry formation, calmly directing the attack, still more than an arrow's length from the front line. Unexpectedly, Qin Rui's horse was fast and fierce, and he was in front of him in the blink of an eye. Then a huge spearhead—almost as sharp as a lance—spurred straight at him. Xing Caojun hurriedly deflected it with his own lance, and with a "crack," they bounced off.

Qin Rui thought to himself, "This thief is quite strong. It seems I've spotted a big fish." Xing Caojun, however, was alarmed. He thought, "You, a dignified military governor, why are you personally leading the front lines? Even if you are, there's no reason for you to charge into the enemy lines with only a small number of cavalry! Are you out of your mind? My life is precious; I can't let myself die at the hands of such a brute!"

The key was that he knew Qin Rui was young, only in his early thirties, while he himself was nearly fifty. Even if he could barely manage to deflect Qin Rui's spear in a brief struggle, his strength would surely wane over time. So he pulled on the reins, slightly shifting aside, allowing his guards to surge forward and block Qin Rui.

However, with their morale waning, Xing Caojun had no choice but to order a retreat.

Qin Rui stabilized the battle line and returned to his own camp triumphantly. He even shouted loudly in front of his soldiers, "Men, how many bandit generals have I killed today?" Some of his soldiers understood and shouted back at the same time, "General Qin is mighty! In a short time, he has killed more than forty bandits, if not fifty!"

In fact, Qin Rui only personally knocked down about ten Tianxiong cavalrymen in this charge—his hundred personal guards couldn't just stand by and watch, leaving the enemy all to face the commander—and most of them were ordinary cavalrymen, with very few officers or above.

The battle looked intense, but since neither side's formation collapsed, most of the wounded were able to be saved, so the number of people who died on the spot was not high. Of course, given the medical level of that era, it was hard to say whether the seriously wounded could survive for more than a few days even if they were carried back to the camp.

As dusk approached, the situation slightly favored the Tianxiong army, which had forced the Weibo army back over a hundred paces from the center of the battlefield. Immediately, the sound of metal clanging rang out from the Weibo camp, and two fresh troops charged forward on the flanks to cover the main force's slow retreat; almost simultaneously, Tian Chengsi ordered the striking of bronze gongs…

Both armies returned to their camps, and the casualties were only a couple hundred men each. If the fighting continued like this, even for ten days or half a month, either side could afford the losses, but for Tian Chengsi, he couldn't wait—who knew when the Zhaoyi and Hedong armies would arrive?

Once the enemy's reinforcements arrive, the balance of power will likely be reversed instantly.

Although Tian Chengsi looked down on both the Zhaoyi Army and Xue Song, the Hedong troops were a formidable force with many warhorses. Even if Xin Yunjing only sent two or three thousand elite cavalry, it would be enough to give him a hard time.

Therefore, upon returning to camp, he couldn't help but look somber. Xu Shi asked him, "Just now on the battlefield, the Weibo army was unable to hold out and was forced to sound the retreat. If I had taken the opportunity to pursue them, I could have directly reached the front lines. I wonder why Commander Tian ordered a retreat?"

Before Tian Chengsi could speak, Xing Caojun chimed in, "Although the enemy has retreated, their strength remains. Moreover, our army is not prepared for a night battle. Even if we are forced to the front of the fortress, we cannot charge into it and waste our troops. It would be a loss."

Tian Chengsi clenched his fists and slammed them in front of him, saying angrily, "I didn't expect Li Ji to be so difficult to deal with!"

Wang You hurriedly comforted him, saying, "On the first day of battle, the enemy's morale was still high, which prevented us from quickly defeating them. This is normal in battle, so Commander Tian need not worry. Let's wait until tomorrow to fight again..."

Tian Chengsi shook his head: "We cannot fight tomorrow."

Chapter Twenty-One: Too Intense

In those days, ordinary soldiers had limited protein intake. Even if they ate a lot of carbohydrates, they could hardly withstand long hours of labor and were easily fatigued. Today, the two armies had been fighting since dawn, with less than an hour of rest in between. Most of the officers and soldiers were already exhausted and would need several days of rest before they could possibly return to such a fierce battlefield.

Wang You, being accustomed to sitting in his study, didn't have a deep understanding of this, which is why he blurted out "Let's fight again tomorrow"; Tian Chengsi, having been in the military for a long time, wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

Because the government troops fought fiercely and refused to retreat during the day, but were ultimately outnumbered, and several times it seemed that they were just one step away from complete collapse, so Tian Chengsi was reluctant to give up early. As they fought, the whole day went by... How could they possibly send out their main force to fight tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow?

He then turned to Xing Caojun, Meng Xiyou, and other generals and asked, "What are your thoughts on today's battle?"

Xing Caojun said, "The soldiers of Wei Bo are in excellent physical condition. Even after fighting for a day, they seem to still have energy left... I really don't know how Commander Li trained them..."

If Li Jiruo were standing nearby, he would have answered his question directly: "It's simple. As long as you don't cut back on rations and pay, and give the soldiers some meat from time to time, that's fine. If you really can't afford to supply that, soybean protein will do."

"...In my humble opinion, Commander Li should place all his elite troops here, while the old and weak guard the city and transport supplies in the rear. Our elite troops number only twenty or thirty thousand, while Weibo has more than ten thousand. So, with two against one, the formation is not very wide, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat them. Besides, there is also Wu Shun's army guarding the pontoon bridge and protecting the flanks."

On the battlefield, even if you outnumber the enemy by a hundred, your numerical advantage will be greatly diminished if you cannot spread out your troops completely—this is precisely why military strategy emphasizes defending strategic locations. In today's battle, the width between the two armies is only four or five li, and even with the left and right flanks, it doesn't exceed ten li. Wu Zetian's army cannot possibly stretch the enemy's formation too thin, and at least on the main battlefield, they cannot gain a significant advantage.

However, this was a last resort. Tian Chengsi could certainly divide his troops and continue to extend his forces northward—from the city of Hengshui to the border between Ji and Shen prefectures, which is mostly flat terrain, no less than forty miles long—but he wouldn't be able to manage it all. If the situation changed, the messengers would not be able to report the frontline battle situation to the central command in time, and by the time the central command issued the order, it would be too late...

This made Tian Chengsi stroke his beard and ponder, considering whether to send a detachment northward to Xing Caojun and entrust it with full authority before resuming the battle in a few days. However, before making a decision, he had to ask, "What about Wu Shun's army?"

Xing Caojun said, "Wu Shun's army is also quite physically fit..." This was actually redundant; Qin Rui and the others had rested for a long time before the actual battle—"Their bravery may not be as great as Wei Bo's, but their formation is extremely disciplined. Especially Qin Rui, whose bravery surpasses that of the entire army; this humble general is truly no match for him..."

Before he could finish speaking, Meng Xiyou suddenly remembered something and interrupted, "Just now General Xing said that all of Weibo's elite troops are here, so their grain escort troops must be few and weak. Our army should find an opportunity to cross the Zhang River and attack their rear. If the supply line is cut off and the grain is burned, they will not be able to hold out and will have to retreat."

Ultimately, the Zhang River is not wide, with many sections that can be forded, and its banks are flat terrain, which is advantageous for offense but not for defense. So, since the Tianxiong Army has a numerical advantage, why not take advantage of it and divide their forces to harass the enemy?

Tian Chengsi nodded slowly, but first sought Xing Caojun's opinion: "What do you think of this plan?"

Xing Caojun thought for a moment, then replied hesitantly, "It seems feasible, however... Li Ji is no novice, and he will most likely be on guard..."

Tian Chengsi was filled with resentment: "Hu E has followed me since An Lushan was still alive, but I never expected him to betray my trust and surrender—if Xindu were still in my hands, why would I have to worry about this?!"

Now that Xindu has fallen into the hands of the government troops, it will inevitably become the closest grain storage base to the front line. Moreover, with its strong city defenses, it can also blockade an area of ​​dozens of miles around, thus greatly limiting the operational range of the Tianxiong Army's forces that attempt to raid south of the Zhang River. If Xindu were still in Tian Chengsi's hands, the scope for strategic maneuvering in the surrounding area would be much wider.

Wang You suggested, "It's also because the Weibo army arrived too quickly, and the garrison in Xindu was insufficient. Perhaps Hu E had no choice but to surrender, but his heart still belongs to Commander Tian. I heard that Li Jijian escorted General Yang to Chang'an, but still appointed Hu E as the governor of Jizhou. We can send someone to sneak into Xindu. If we can persuade him to return, Weibo's food supply will be cut off." He paused, then added, "Commander Li may not be able to persuade him, but Commander Tian might as well offer some benefits to Commander Qin of Wushun's army. If we can get him to open the pontoon bridge, Weibo will surely be wiped out."

Tian Chengsi nodded: "Let's devise multiple plans simultaneously. You write to Hu E for me, saying that if he is willing to return, all his past transgressions will be forgiven; then write to Qin Rui, saying that if he withdraws... I will compensate him with 100,000 shi of grain and salt, and 50,000 bolts of silk." Then he looked at Meng Xiyou: "You then lead troops across the Zhang River for me, and try to raid the grain transport of Weibo..."

At the same time, in the Weibo camp, Li Ji, Tian Qianzhen, Lei Wanchun, and others were also summarizing the day's battle. Li Ji first asked Tian Qianzhen, "What does the deputy commander think of today's battle?" Tian Qianzhen shook his head: "It was a bit too intense..."

Gao Ying was puzzled, but given his temperament, he would immediately ask questions whenever he didn't understand something: "This humble official is not knowledgeable in military affairs, but I must ask you—today, only six or seven tenths of our army took turns fighting, including the general's personal guards. There are still many fresh troops that have not been used, and after a whole day of fighting, the casualties are only a few hundred. Can this still be called 'intense'?"

Lei Wanchun first explained: "In a battle between two armies, it is impossible to send out all of our forces. If we have to send our elite troops into battle, it means that defeat is already imminent. We can only hope to survive by fighting to the death." But he then expressed his surprise: "I, Lei, once followed the late General Zhang to defend Suiyang and Luoyang, fiercely resisting the powerful enemy. The situation there was extremely tragic, and I know that it cannot be compared to today's battle. However... the deputy commander said that it was 'too intense,' and I do not understand what he means."

Tian Qianzhen looked at Li Ji and saw Li Ji nod slightly. He then sighed and said, "Only today do I realize that the Weizhou defense army trained by Commander Li is truly one of the best in the world. Although the Tianxiong Army is also brave and fierce, it is far from being able to defeat them." He paused and began to explain, "However, the Tianxiong Army is still several times larger than us. If I were to send all my main forces, I could defeat them, but I would be powerless to break into their camp and inflict heavy casualties on the enemy."

"If Tian Chengsi were to retreat out of fear and hold fast to Wuqiang, then the armies of Zhaoyi and Hedong might come, and within a few months, they would be unable to breach the city, and their provisions might not be sufficient. The reason we have set up fortifications north of Zhang is to contain Tian Chengsi and prevent him from retreating, so that reinforcements can arrive and launch a full-scale attack, breaking his spirit and killing his troops. At that time, even if a few troops flee back to Wuqiang, it will not affect the overall situation."

"Therefore, I believe that today's battle was still too intense and might frighten Tian Chengsi away. Our army is ultimately outnumbered. If he retreats now, even if we pursue him, we will not be able to inflict heavy casualties on him, and the commander's plan will be in vain. Since our army is more than capable of holding the position, why not show the enemy weakness and fight more slowly?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "It's not easy to gauge the situation here. If we show too much weakness, Tian Chengsi is cunning and might see through our weakness. We need to make him think that we might be able to win before he will stay. If he retreats to Wuqiang, our army will be in trouble, but in fact, the Tian family will have basically lost the chance to turn the tide."

He then asked Tian Qianzhen, "From the deputy commander's perspective, if Tian Chengsi does not retreat, what strategy will he employ, and how should I respond?"

Tian Qianzhen said, “Tian Chengsi has only three strategies: first, to rest for a few days and then come to fight me again; second, to send troops north to bypass the border between Shenzhen and Hebei in order to encircle me; and third, to send an army across the Zhang River to the south to attack my grain transport. My idea is that if he requests battle again, the commander-in-chief should not respond. It is better to hold the camp and lure him to attack the stronghold; sending troops north is also fine. As long as I ensure that the pontoon bridge on the Zhang River is not lost, he will have no way to encircle me; if he attacks the grain transport to the south…”

He stroked his beard and said slowly, "I know the commander has already made plans, but we must still be cautious and not be too careless."

Li Ji nodded: "I understand."

Gao Ying warned, "I'm afraid Tian Chengsi might secretly send someone to persuade Commander Qin of Wushun Army..." There was widespread dislike for Weibo in Wushun Army, while people in Weibo Town generally distrusted Qin Rui.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji pondered for a long time before saying, "If you're talking about the idea of ​​'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,' or about the camaraderie we shared under the An Lushan rebels, I can't do anything about it..." However, among everyone present, only he knew that Qin Rui was actually different from Tian Chengsi and the others, and could not be considered an old member of the An Lushan rebels—"If you offer a generous bribe... I might as well give Qin a blank check."

Everyone was bewildered: "What does the commander mean...?"

Li Ji pointed at Gao Ying: "You wrote a letter to Qin for me, promising that if he conquers Hengshui and Wuqiang, all the treasury's contents will not be contested by Wei Bo; if he ultimately fails to conquer them, I will compensate him with 100,000 bolts of brocade... no, 200,000 bolts, and the loan from the other day need not be returned!"

Just then, Yin Shen entered after registering. Upon seeing the group of people in the tent, he hesitated somewhat. Li Ji waved his hand at him: "It's alright. If you have any news, you can tell everyone."

Yin Shen then bowed and reported, "There is still no news from the Hedong army, but the vanguard of the Zhaoyi army has already entered Jizhou territory."

Li Ji was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "How many soldiers are there? Where have they arrived?"

Yin Shen replied, "The vanguard of four thousand will depart from Julu and head straight for Nangong..."

Li Ji frowned: "What are you going to Nangong for?"

Nangong County is located sixty li southwest of Xindu, west of the old canal, and is currently still under the control of the Tianxiong Army. However, because the city is small, after reconnaissance, the garrison is less than a thousand men, so theoretically it will not affect the government army's transport route. Li Ji only assigned half a battalion of soldiers to monitor the east of the canal and ignored it.

Even if we ignore the Zhaoyi Army, they are just a dead pawn, useless in any way. But no matter what, the county still has soldiers and a city. If the main force of the Zhaoyi Army passes through, it would be fine to just push through, but now the vanguard only has four thousand. Do you think you can take it in a day or two? What if the people refuse to surrender?

I'm here eagerly awaiting reinforcements, why are you wasting your time?

Most likely, they are greedy for the people in the city and the wealth in the treasury, or they covet the credit for taking the city... Perhaps the generals are cowardly, the main force is not here, and they dare not come to join our army first.

Just as he was feeling indignant, Yin Shen reported: "Chengde's troops are gradually gathering near Anping, I don't know why..."

Chapter Twenty-Two, Officials Who Guard the Selection