Black Fairy, the master is a female ghost

On the second day, the Eastern Yan army was ambushed in Huxiao Valley and was defeated.

He fled back to Tongmu County in a panic.

But they were surprised to find that the flags on the city walls had been changed.

Above the city gate, soldiers of Southern Liang hung the prince's body.

"Listen up, people of Dongyan. Tongmu County has been captured by us. Your prince was shot dead by our army on the spot. Take his body back with you."

"I'm sending a message to your king: this land of Nanjun will belong to us, Nanliang, from now on. Do not harass us again."

The surviving soldiers of Eastern Yan were extremely sad.

He sadly took the prince's body, carried it with him, and headed north in panic.

After they left, the Southern Liang army reunited, rested for a day in Tongmu County, and continued to march north towards Nanjun City.

Lu Xunhuan had already left last night and headed north to meet Yan Bei.

The army of Yanbei was not moving south quickly and was still north of Yanjiang River, not even reaching Longzhou City.

The news of the prince's death was rushed over thousands of miles and reached Longzhou City two days later.

When His Majesty the King heard this, he felt as if he had been hit by a hammer and almost fainted on the throne.

When he came to his senses, he suppressed his grief and asked, "Where is the Yanbei army?"

A minister reported: "Your Majesty, we have arrived at the north bank and are preparing to cross the river."

His Majesty the King waved his hand and said, "Tell Yanbei to return to the palace immediately."

An hour later, Yan Bei returned to the palace and stood in the hall.

He stepped forward and saluted, "Father, our army has completely wiped out the northern barbarian invaders and recaptured the Snow Dragon Pass."

His Majesty the King nodded slightly. "I've received the report. Although we've won in the north, the enemy in the south is fierce. Your brother has been killed in battle..."

Yan Bei was shocked to hear that the crown prince had died in battle: "Father..."

His Majesty the King shook his head.

"After all, he's just a playful kid, so he's not very useful..."

"Now that he's gone, I want to make you the crown prince. But if you become the crown prince, who will lead the troops to repel the evil bandits of Southern Liang?"

Yan Bei bowed and said, "Father, it doesn't matter to me whether I become the Crown Prince or not, but I have no choice but to drive out the enemy."

"I will lead the troops south without stopping. If I die in battle, father will make the third son the crown prince."

"Father, I bid you farewell."

He turned and strode away.

His Majesty the King wanted to ask him to stay, but the words never came out of his mouth.

There are really not many generals available in the court. If Yan Bei doesn't go, he can't think of anyone else who can drive out the people of Southern Liang.

Forget it, just let him go.

If he returns victorious, he will be the crown prince.

If he died in battle and the territory of Eastern Yan was lost, it would not seem so important who became the crown prince.

There was a tense atmosphere in Longzhou City.

After the army returned from crossing the river, they didn't even have time to rest and went straight through the city.

Head south to fight against the invaders from Southern Liang.

Five days later, Nanjun City fell into the hands of the Southern Liang army.

Yan Bei met Lu Xunhuan who had arrived on the way, and was still three hundred miles away from Nanjun City.

After dark, the soldiers set up camp, rested on the spot, and prepared to set out again tomorrow morning.

In Yanbei's camp, he and Lu Xunhuan whispered to each other.

Yan Bei asked, "How did the prince sacrifice himself? Do you know the details?"

Lu Xun Huan shook his head: "It is said that Tongmu County was captured and he died in the chaos."

Yan Bei asked doubtfully, "The Crown Prince is surrounded by experts protecting him. Even if he is defeated, they can help him break through. There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Lu Xun Huan said, "Who knows what exactly happened? Your Highness, there is no need to worry about it."

Yan Bei nodded: "Okay, now that the Nanliang people have captured my Nanjun City, how can we defeat them?"

Lu Xunhuan said, "Nanjun is my hometown. I must take it back no matter what."

"It's just that we're currently lacking intelligence from all sides, and we're still unable to formulate a strategy to defeat the enemy."

He unfolded the map, looked at it for a while, and said, "Nanjun is vast, but most of it is mountainous. The people live in Nanjun City and its five counties."

"Now, of the five counties, three in the south have fallen into enemy hands, and I don't think the people of Nanliang will go to the two in the north."

Yan Bei looked at the two county towns on the map, Tongcheng and Qishui.

Tongcheng is the only way from Nanjun to Longzhou City.

But this place is low in the south and high in the north, making it difficult for the Southern Liang people to capture it. Even if they capture it, it will be difficult to defend it.

Because this city is convenient for attacking from the north.

As for Qishui, as the name suggests, the area is not only mountainous but also has many rivers and an extremely complex terrain.

If the people of Southern Liang wanted to attack, they would have to spend a lot of manpower and resources.

Besides, Qishui is not an important place.

The two looked at the map for a while and then went to rest.

On the second day, the two men led the vanguard army quickly southward and entered Tongcheng before dark.

After occupying Nanjun City, the Southern Liang army did not move even a single step north.

At this time, the population of Tongcheng exploded.

The small town, which could originally accommodate only 100,000 residents, suddenly became 300,000 due to the large number of people fleeing from Nanjun.

In addition to the 30,000 defeated defenders from Nanjun, the 10,000 defenders originally stationed in Tongcheng, and the 40,000 vanguard troops led by Yanbei today.

This brings the total population of the city to nearly 400,000.

The small town was almost overcrowded, with people everywhere.

As a result, mobilizing large armies often resulted in being trapped in the sea of ​​people, which was quite difficult.

As the population increased, food became scarce, and many store robberies had occurred in Tongcheng.

After Yan Bei entered the city, he frowned when he saw this scene.

"How does this work?"

Lu Xunhuan suggested, "We suggest that the North City Gate be kept open 24/7. The county government should issue a notice stating that a major battle is imminent, telling those fleeing from Southern County not to stay and to continue north."

"Also, young and strong men, between the ages of eighteen and forty, who are willing to stay and serve in the army, can enlist right here."

After the notice was issued, the north city gate was opened.

All night long, people were leaving the city crying with their families, heading north.

Tongcheng was not quiet the whole night.

This situation lasted for three days.

Tongcheng, which was originally crowded with people, has almost become a military city because most of the people have left.

Because not only the people who fled from Nanjun City left, but half of the residents in the city also ran away.

Tongcheng originally had 100,000 residents, but only 50,000 are left.

As more soldiers arrived from the north over the past three days, and some young and strong men were recruited locally, the total force had reached 150,000, three times the number of residents.

After the people left, they left the place in a mess, and the entire Tongcheng looked dirty and messy.

So Yan Bei ordered his soldiers to clear the streets.

Lu Xunhuan has been thinking about how to make the Southern Liang army retreat these days.

Previously in Tongmu County, the Southern Liang army could have been repelled.

But in order to help Yanbei destroy the prince, he did not hesitate to play a game of Infernal Affairs, helping Nanliang to come up with ideas and lose Nanjun.

Now that the Crown Prince has been killed, he naturally has to find a way to withdraw the Southern Liang army.

But judging from the intelligence, the people of Nanliang obviously do not want to leave.

In addition to the previous 200,000 troops, they have been continuously receiving reinforcements these days.

The Southern Liang Dynasty dispatched another 500,000 troops from the country, which passed through Yuling Pass and continuously rushed to Nanjun City.

In this case, the other side has at least 700,000 troops.

And what about Dongyan?

There were only 150,000 defenders in Tongcheng.

The Xilingzhou army was pinned down by the rebels and was unable to provide support.

The only ones who could come were the troops from Longzhou City and various places in the north.

Even if we can finally gather 700,000 or 800,000 people, that would be the mobilization of the entire country.

Unless new soldiers are recruited.

At this time, if Zhou Guo cooperated with the rebels and broke through Luoyan Pass, they would be attacked from both sides.

If Dong Yan cannot resist, it is possible that the country will be destroyed.

This situation is already a dilemma.

He needed more intelligence to understand the entire situation in real time.