Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 60 Military Discussion
Fan Yi had lost all his courage and hope. Facing the bloody ring-handled knife in front of him, his heart was gloomy. He let out a shrill growl and swung the knife at Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng had no intention of humiliating this desperate enemy general, so he swung his sword with great force, slashing at Fan Yi's blade.

Fan Yi was injured and had little strength left. After a few rounds of fighting, his long sword flew out of his hand.

Xu Sheng put his knife on his neck, and several soldiers beside him rushed out and tied up the pale-faced Fan Yi tightly.

At this point, most of the 1,500 reinforcements sent by Qian Tong had been wiped out.

The remaining 700 reinforcements, upon hearing the sounds of fighting in the city were weakening, became demoralized and began to retreat towards Yuncheng, daring not to stay any longer.

After marching for only a few miles, a group of cavalry suddenly rushed out from the direction of the river bank, broke into the center of the formation, and cut the marching column in half.

This group of cavalry was the ambush that Yan Yi had arranged in advance under the riverbank outside the city, with the purpose of slowing down the retreat of Qian Tong's army.

The 700 reinforcements were instantly thrown into chaos, and by the time they re-formed their battle formation, more than a hundred soldiers had been killed or wounded.

On the vast plains, cavalry was the natural enemy of infantry. The remaining reinforcements suffered a series of misfortunes, and without a leading general to support them, their morale plummeted to the lowest point. They could only rely on their spear formations to resist, slowly retreating towards Yuncheng.

However, under the harassment and threats of two hundred elite cavalry, it was already difficult for this remnant to maintain its formation, so how could it possibly increase its marching speed? Half an hour passed, and they had barely covered a mile.

At this time, Yan Yi had completely wiped out the remaining enemy troops in Qian Gonglei, and reorganized his troops to chase after them.

The two Yan armies met three miles away from Yuncheng, and attacked from the front and back, easily defeating the remaining 500 Yuncheng reinforcements.

When the battle ended, it was already 9:00 in the morning. Yan Yi ordered his men to hastily clean up the battlefield, and immediately led the entire army back to Qian Gong Lei for rest and recuperation.

Siege, encirclement and annihilation, field battles, three or four small battles were fought in succession. Not only were all the soldiers exhausted, but the casualties were also not to be ignored.

After several battles, the total number of casualties in the army had reached 375, with more than 500 injured, including nearly 100 seriously injured.

If it weren't for the continuous victories and fruitful results, and if Yan Yi hadn't rewarded the living generously and provided compensation to the dead, the morale of the entire army would have been shaken just by this military report.

Therefore, on the way back to Qian Gonglei, he was seriously considering whether to attack Yuncheng immediately.

After returning to Qian Gong Lei and briefly dealing with important matters such as garrisoning the city, treating the wounded, checking the treasury, dealing with those who surrendered, comforting the people, and soothing the hearts of the refugees, it was already late afternoon.

Yan Yi could clearly feel the fatigue in his body, but his spirit was very excited. Time was pressing, so he did not care about rest. He immediately set up the government office as a temporary central military headquarters and summoned all the generals to discuss military affairs.

The government office is located in the center of the city wall, next to Zhou Yu's mansion, covering an area of ​​two acres. It consists of more than ten houses repaired with blue bricks and a row of walls built around it. Although it is not very grand, it is still presentable.

In the meeting hall of the government office, Yan Yi changed into a dark-colored hakama, sat at the head of the table, and was reading a military newspaper.

Fan Yan sat in the first seat on the left, followed by Chen Gan, Han Yang and others.

Xu Sheng sat in the first seat on the right, next to him were Zhao Cuo and two garrison commanders who were promoted from the sons of wealthy and powerful people and Danyang soldiers.

In the middle of the main hall, Fan Yi was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back and his head bowed.

He had taken off his armor and was only wearing a blood-stained shirt. Although his injuries had been healed, he looked listless and his eyes were wandering, revealing his inner panic.

Thinking of how he had insulted Yan Yi in public in front of the two armies, Fan Yi's heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Yan Yi read the military report for a while, then picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of the strong tea. He turned his gaze to Fan Yi and asked, "What is the current situation in Yuncheng? How many defenders are there?"

Fan Yi thought he was doomed. He looked up at Yan Yi, then lowered his head again, remaining silent. Yan Yi put down his teacup and sneered, "Qian Tong is already a withered bone in a grave, not far from death. If you don't tell me, can't I conquer Yuncheng?"

Fan Yi felt gloomy in his heart, knowing that what the other party said was true. Seven out of ten parts of Qian Tong's army had been destroyed. How could they resist the Yan family with tens of thousands of soldiers?

Seeing that he remained silent, Yan Yi waved his hand and said, "Drag him away and behead him!"

Two royal guards strode into the house, grabbed Fan Yi's arms and dragged him away.

Chen Gan hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "Young Master, our army is in need of men. This man is brave, so why not spare his life?"

The two cavalrymen stopped and looked at Yan Yi.

Yan Yi pondered in silence.

Fan Yi glanced at Chen Gan and recognized him as the general he had fought with in the morning. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a muffled voice, "Yuncheng still has 1,500 troops."

Yan Yi leaned forward and asked in a deep voice, "What are the units? How strong are they?"

Fan Yi had already spoken, so he didn't think about it any further. "Five hundred soldiers are General Qian's personal guards, one section is cavalry, another five hundred are ordinary soldiers, and the rest are civilians who were recently recruited."

Yan Yi looked serious and thoughtful, and asked a few more questions, which Fan Yi answered one by one.

The main room fell into a brief silence as everyone was digesting the information revealed by Fan Yi.

When Yan Yi turned his gaze back to Fan Yi, the latter's nerves suddenly tensed up.

Yan Yi sat up straight and suddenly asked, "Do you have any family in Yuncheng?"

Fan Yi was surprised and shook his head, saying, "Only a few concubines."

Yan Yi pondered and said, "When our army attacks Yuncheng, you can join the army and fight in the city. If you survive, I will spare your life. If you can achieve military merit, I will give you a promising future."

Fan Yi was slightly stunned and nodded.

"Untie him and put him under Chen Gan's command." Yan Yi waved his hand.

After Fan Yi left, he looked around and asked with a smile, "What are your thoughts on attacking Yuncheng?"

Xu Sheng clasped his fists and said, "Young Master, you can verify the truth of what Fan Yi said from the surrendered soldiers. If it is true, our army should attack Yuncheng as quickly as possible and not give Qian Tong a chance to catch his breath. There are still some siege equipment in the treasury of Qian Gonglei that can be of great use."

Yan Yi nodded slightly. He had the same idea. Although the fall of Yuncheng was only a matter of time under the current situation, he had to be the first to capture Yuncheng before Yan Baihu or Yan Yu heard the news and sent troops, so that he could completely occupy the city.

Fan Yan twirled his long beard and agreed, "Wen Xiang is absolutely right. Right now, the copper and coin supply is weak. Our army should rest for a while before attacking Yuncheng immediately to prevent any unforeseen incidents. Also, does Young Master know where Si Qing is now?"

Yan Yi frowned and said, "I haven't heard from Si Qing for many days. I'm very worried."

Fan Yan smiled slightly. "Just now, when I was comforting the refugees in the city, I encountered a few internal troops. According to them, Si Qing and most of the internal troops have been taken to Yuncheng."

Yan Yi was overjoyed when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)