It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"Yes, if I were in Yunyang now, I would probably advise you not to rush ahead. But how long has it been since Yunyang took over Tiancheng? From this attack and defense, we can see that they are not well prepared. They didn't even have time to repair the city walls. In this case, I think it would be better to cooperate with Yunhai to capture Yunyang in one fell swoop, so as to avoid more trouble at night."

Runji pondered over Tiancheng's map for a long time, and even deduced many times the possible actions that Fang Shisan might take. He spent a whole day considering various factors such as climate, topography, ambushes, etc., but still failed to help Fang Shisan think of any counterattack strategy.

Finally, he laughed at himself in the military tent and said to his adjutant:

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. Indeed, with my ability, I can't tell whether the other party has set an ambush. For the sake of the dignity of the Huaiwang territory, I can't just retreat. On the bright side, maybe Fang Shisan deliberately created this situation, intending to delay the opportunity to fight in my suspicion... Then continue to go south, and tell your men to keep their eyes open and report to me immediately if they notice anything wrong."

The adjutant also smiled and said:

"It seems that Fang Shisan is indeed not a simple person. He caused us so much trouble when he was defending the city. Now he has abandoned the city and left us without any peace."

Runji also smiled, patted the adjutant on the shoulder, and said:

"He's a well-known strategist, one of the best in the Eternal Heaven Kingdom. How can he be easily dealt with? Since you've decided to fight to the end, don't just sit there. Travel quickly tonight and head south!"

The adjutant nodded. He had worked under Runji for several years. Runji was like this. Once he made up his mind, he would immediately start to implement it. He didn't like to wait. It was only during this offensive and defensive battle with Fang Shisan that he looked up to Fang Shisan. If it were an ordinary general, Runji would not even hesitate. At most, he would let Zhaoxin and Shenghe's army rush to the front to step on the mines.

The army of more than 200,000 marched southwards with almost no hindrance.

Runji even personally checked the places where the Yunyang army had been stationed, and found that every time Fang Shisan retreated, the number of earthen stoves left behind was decreasing, indicating that the number of Yunyang troops was decreasing. Runji sent people to a series of cities in the west to inquire and learned that groups of people had passed by there during this period. Runji gradually believed that Fang Shisan should have planned to withdraw his troops and began to withdraw in batches.

But if I want to leave now, is it too late?

Runji directly sent 50,000 troops to the western front, on the one hand to intercept Yunyang's army, and on the other hand to keep an eye on Zhaochen's army that had been wandering nearby. At the same time, he wrote to Yunhai's generals, urging them to go north as soon as possible, and received a positive reply from Yunhai's generals. Everything went smoothly, and Runji's worries gradually dissipated, and the impatient part of his character once again appeared -

Go south. Go south as soon as possible, find Fang Shisan's main force, and start a decisive battle before they evacuate. Then you can cooperate with Yun Hai to kill all these opponents!

We must not allow Fang Shisan the opportunity to retreat, and we must not allow Yunyang’s army time to organize a counterattack!

Runji pursued closely all the way, and the coalition scouts also sent back a lot of important information.

They witnessed Yunyang soldiers transporting precious jewels on the main roads of many cities. The source of these jewels seemed to be Anning City and Wanshi Mountain outside Anning City.

Inside the military tent, Runji looked at many pieces of information, compared them repeatedly, and then closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he exhaled and said:

"I see... I was wondering why Fang Shisan tried to stop us in the north-central part of Tiancheng. After the failure, he did not retreat to Yunyang immediately but chose to fight and retreat all the way. They must have dug up the tomb of the Tiancheng lord in Wanshi Mountain and wanted to transport all the treasures buried with him back to Yunyang. That would be the real spoils of their attack on Tiancheng this time."

The adjutant asked:

"Then what should we do?"

Runji stared at the map in front of him for a long time, and then he slapped the location of Anning City:

"Go to Anning City! The plan remains unchanged. We will attack from the north and south to annihilate the main force of Yunyang! You dare to transport treasures under our noses. You will pay the price for your greed."

26. All can be blown up

Under Runji's command, the coalition forces marched towards Anning City in a siege.

On the way, Runji received the news that although Anning City was the main city of Tiancheng, it was not a strong city. On the contrary, because it had just suffered the baptism of war, Anning City was now more dilapidated than ordinary cities. This made Runji more determined to speed up the march. If Fang Shisan received the news in advance, she would probably abandon the city and leave, and the plan to annihilate the Yunyang army would fail.

After arriving near Anning City, Runji once again pulled the reins to slow down the army's march and fell into a brief contemplation. The bad premonition from before vaguely emerged in his mind again. After all, it was too quiet here, and there were no Yunyang soldiers or fortifications on the road, which was far from what he expected.

"Where are the people from Yunhai? Are they here?"

Runji asked the adjutant beside him, and the adjutant replied:

"I don't know. Logically speaking, they should be almost there..."

Runji frowned. At this time, Zhaoxin's general rode up and said:

"Sir! News just came from the front line that Yunyang's army seems to be planning to abandon Anning City and retreat southward."

The adjutant whispered:

"It seems that they have noticed our movements..."

Runji looked calm, tapped his trouser legs twice with his fingers, and said:

"That's normal. It shows that Yunyang's Anbu has good organizational ability, and they can't hide our hasty march. But their reaction speed is a bit too fast. We are rushing a hundred miles, and even if we send a letter by carrier pigeon, it shouldn't be so fast. Do they have other channels to transmit information, or has Fang Shisan already prepared to retreat..."

Upon hearing this, General Zhaoxin said:

"Sir, I think the most urgent task is to control Anning City and declare Yunyang's rule here invalid. When we marched today, I sent soldiers to investigate nearby and found that although the people here have regained some humanity, they have also developed a preconceived good impression of Yunyang. They are very repulsive to us, and after hearing that we are here to encircle and suppress the Yunyang army, they even had a violent conflict with my subordinates..."

Facing General Zhaoxin's indignant expression, Runji smiled and said:

"Isn't this normal? Yunyang helped them kill the callous Lord Tiancheng and gave them new support. Those people have been poor and tired of it. It's rare for them to meet a lord who is a human being, so they will naturally be grateful to him. Of course, this is also due to the hard work of Yunyang's mouthpieces... But it doesn't matter. The people will not work hard for gratitude. When we take over Tiancheng, you will hear them singing the same praises to us."

After finishing his words, Runji instructed his adjutant:

"Since Fang Shisan wants to withdraw, we will continue to move forward. First, we will occupy Anning City, and then block Wanshi Mountain. We will take what she gives up, but at the same time, we must further reduce her living space. If she takes a step back, we will take two steps forward, forcing her to have no way out. Send someone to urge Yunhai to move faster."

The huge army marched on the desert-like land, and the cold wind blew up dry sand and dust.

The sound of horse hooves was chaotic and the clashing of armor made people feel uneasy.

Two hundred thousand troops is not a small number, especially since it includes a considerable number of elite cavalry from the Huaiwang territory.

The war horses of the Huaiwang Territory were ranked among the best in the entire Yongtian Kingdom, and the cavalry trained with local materials were also very powerful. Because of their ability to fight, the Huaiwang Territory's foreign wars were very plain and boring for a long time in history, and the heavy cavalry just had to roll over them. At that time, there was a joke circulating in the streets that it was very simple to apply for military generals in the Huaiwang Territory, and there was no need to learn any military tactics, as long as they knew the cavalry's chain formation.

These cavalrymen are the blood and bones of the Huaiwang territory.

When they were near Anning City, Runji suddenly noticed something and asked with a frown:

"Has the soil here been disturbed?"

The adjutant replied:

"Yes. But our people have stepped on all of them and rolled the logs here again, so no falling traps were triggered."

Runji asked again:

“Has there been any investigation into why the soil was disturbed?”

The adjutant replied:

"Yes. Our people dug up some new soil and found a lot of corpses inside. It seems that there was a massacre here before. We captured some nearby people. According to the information they provided, Zhaochen's army drove a large number of Tiancheng people to attack Anning City. Many people wanted to escape in the chaos, and many people would rather be enemies with the army than resist the rule of Lord Tiancheng. These people were killed without mercy. After Lord Tiancheng fell, Yunyang used the excuse of incompetence to kill a group of people and buried them here together."

Runji thought about it carefully and understood what the adjutant meant by "ineffective performance".

If he guessed correctly, Zhaochen's army drove the people of Tiancheng all the way, and in the end at least hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people gathered outside Anning City. After the fall of the Tiancheng lord, such a large number of refugees became a burden. If they were alive, they would have to eat food and divide their property, and if they died, it seemed that there would be no impact. At this time, finding an excuse to wipe out some of them was the wisest choice.

When resources cannot support so many people, people are bound to die so that the world can continue to function. This is the meaning of war. Runji did not feel any sense of disobedience, because he would do the same thing if he were in the same situation. Even though the Huaiwang Territory publicly condemned Lide for only paying 100,000 gold coins to support Tiancheng, they would not pay more money to show their benevolence.

Whether the people of Tiancheng live or die is none of their business.

Runji looked at the new soil on the ground and said with a smile:

"It seems that many people are buried here."

The adjutant nodded:

"My subordinates think so too. Increasing revenue and reducing expenditure... they are really cruel."

Runji shook his head:

"In this world, those who are not cruel have already died. Either be cruel to others, or be cruel to yourself..."

He squeezed his legs against the horse's belly and entered the unguarded Anning City.

The infantry followed him into the city, and the cavalry stood by outside. Runji was not worried that Fang Shisan had an ambush. The soldiers had already investigated and found that Anning City was now an empty city, with no troops or civilians, only some food and treasures that had not been transported away in time. Runji jumped off his horse when he reached the Tiancheng Lord's Mansion and entered the sealed mansion.

He walked silently along the pavilions and terraces, and suddenly saw a wooden sign placed at the door of a room with "Office" written on it in red ink. The style was completely different from the surrounding buildings. It was obviously where the generals of the Yunyang army had stayed.

Runji walked in subconsciously. The room was tidy except for a letter weighed down by a paperweight on the table.

He walked forward and picked up the letter. The handwriting was round but not neat, and the structure looked a little strange, as if it was written with eyes closed.

There were only three simple words on the white letter paper:

"sorry."

Runji shuddered for no reason, his hair stood on end. A bad premonition urged him to drop the letter and rush out the door.

Then he witnessed a scene he had never seen in his life.

The flames rose straight into the sky from the center of the city, destroying everything around it with devastating force.

A huge mushroom cloud slowly rose over this war-torn land.

27. Peace as always

Perhaps because the fire appeared too quickly, the dull explosion seemed to come late.

Everything evaporated in an instant. Houses, ponds, people, nothing was left.

Explosives were placed in each household, under the stone slabs on the streets, in the Tiancheng Lord's treasury, etc. The largest number of explosives was in the square in the center of Anning City, where nearly fifty tons of explosives were buried. Compared to the black powder that was first tested in Yuxi City, Yunyang has been able to innovate in the types of explosives - after the completion of the industrial electrolytic cell, the research institute and the industrial park have the ability to produce some active metals, which has further increased the power of the bombs.

Of course, the number of these explosives is limited after all, and the most used in this operation is actually gasoline bombs. A lot of the oil obtained from the Ocean Clan was just unloaded and entered the factory. It took a long time to complete the production. All the things that Yunyang had originally stored in the warehouse were also thrown in. In order to keep it secret, the entire transportation process was not only participated in by the Anbu organization, but also helped by Fileta using the illusion she learned from Merlin.

To achieve this, it is not the efforts of one person, but the hard work of countless people.

When the roar of the explosion reached the ears of the Yunyang army dozens of miles away, the entire army burst into an unparalleled cheer. It was only at this time that Zhaochen's army learned that the pit they dug played a crucial role in the battle situation. Although they didn't know what happened specifically at this moment, they were also proud of it.

But for the soldiers from the three territories of Huai Wang, Shenghe and Zhaoxin, this was an absolute nightmare.

If the army had formed a battle array in advance, they might have been able to resist a few attacks with the protection provided by the battle array, but it would have been difficult. Because the explosion was not a magic that fell from the sky like a meteorite, but a devastating blow from within the army. Of course, it was impossible to verify whether the infantry of the Huaiwang territory could withstand the power of the explosion after forming a battle array, because the army scattered throughout the Anning City had no time to form a battle array and had been killed or injured.

The cavalry outside the city was slightly better off, as their formation was still there, providing a layer of protection as soon as the explosion spread through the city. But the good times didn't last long, as the explosives buried outside the city also exploded, and the even more powerful chain explosions created a sea of ​​fire on the land.

The sea of ​​fire engulfed everything visible to the naked eye. Flames were everywhere. The oxygen was quickly burned out. Thick smoke filled the lungs and made people cough constantly. Tens of thousands of troops wandered and struggled in the flames, but could not find any way to break out.

Fortunately, the cavalry commander Set was a sober man in the crisis. He slashed the horse's butt with his knife, and the frightened horse ran forward in pain. He covered his mouth and nose with his cloak soaked in horse blood and shouted:

"Follow me! Don't just stand there, as many of you as can escape counts!"

After saying that, Sett pulled the reins, and the horse under him snorted, guiding the people around him. If the cavalry had not gathered together and benefited from the protection of the military formation, the super-high temperature flames would have burned them to charcoal. After all, the incendiary bombs deployed by Yuxi City were limited. It was impossible for tens of thousands of troops to have no space to break out. Those close to the city were naturally reduced to ashes, but those far away from the city were able to escape the sea of ​​fire as soon as possible, and then used the high mobility of the cavalry to retreat all the way to a safe area.

The muscles on Seth's hands and face were burned beyond recognition. He stared with bloodshot eyes, coughing and saying:

"Counting the number of people..."

Even so, when he saw that the once mighty army was now reduced to a few scattered soldiers, his heart was bleeding. The fire in the distance had not yet been extinguished. The entire city was burning, and the land outside the city was also burning. The wind helped the fire, and it burned more and more vigorously. Seth knew very well that fewer and fewer people would be able to escape. The infantrymen who entered the city with Runji were most likely crushed to pieces.

A moment later, a school officer came and reported in a hoarse voice:

"Sir, there are 5,400 cavalrymen left, and 12,000 infantrymen survived. But the surviving infantrymen are basically not ours, but the troops of Zhao Xin and Sheng He who are standing in the back."

Seth felt his hands trembling a little, the burned areas were still hurting, but his heart felt as if it had sunk into an icy cave.

There were nearly 200,000 people, but less than 20,000 survived. How does this mean?

He had fought countless battles, but had never encountered such a situation. Moreover, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Runji, had obviously died in Anning City. What should he do next? If he returned to the territory of the King of Huai, who would bear the responsibility for this war, and who would bear the blame? Among the people present, only Set had the highest rank!

Seth was almost fainting. At the same time, another soldier came running and said loudly:

"Oh no, oh no! The army from Zhaochen Territory is coming! They don't intend to let us go back, they want our lives!"

Seth stared with scarlet eyes, grabbed the soldier's collar and roared:

"Where's Yunhai? Damn it, where are Yunhai's reinforcements?!"

The soldier kept shedding tears and shaking his head frantically.

Seth pushed the soldier to the ground, swearing at him more and more unbearable than the last.

……

At the same time, in Yunyang's army, Fang Shisan smiled and said to the old man Hualong beside him:

"According to the agreement, we will rent the 20 cities in the south to you for use in Yunhai Territory. We don't care whether you plan to use them as commercial channels or marching routes. But we will charge a certain amount of gold coins as rent every month. Is that okay?"

Elder Hualong was silent for a long time, then asked:

"The coalition forces formed by the Huaiwang territory..."

Fang Shisan's smile remained unchanged, and his tone was gentle and peaceful:

"Don't worry, senior. None of those people can escape."

The skinny hands of the old man Hualong trembled slightly. Fang Shisan gently knocked on the armrest of the wheelchair, and Tiara immediately pushed her and turned away. Before leaving, Fang Shisan said to the old man Hualong:

"Yunyang's army will cooperate with Zhaochen's army to encircle the so-called coalition forces from the north and south. If you are interested, you may come and take a look."

Old Man Hualong didn't believe that the coalition forces would just disappear like that. When Lide sent Yunye to find Baifeng, Yunye said lightly that Yunyang didn't mind you conspiring with the coalition forces, but I remind you that you might as well wait and see at the critical moment, so as not to be buried with the Huaiwang territory.

As it happens, the old man Hualong also had the idea of ​​waiting and watching for a while. Anyway, from Yunhai's perspective, it would not be a loss. If Lide really had some secret weapon, Yunhai could suffer less losses; if Yunyang was bluffing, the northern coalition would definitely chase Fang Shisan all the way south, and then they would still be surrounded.

To be honest, when the earth-shaking explosion reached the ears of old man Hualong who was dozens of miles away, he felt mixed emotions.

Feeling relieved, uneasy, panicked, at a loss... Even this smart man who had been a staff member all his life was helpless in such an occasion. He felt that he had to go with Fang Shisan to take a look, but he didn't want to go there from the bottom of his heart.