Zhao Wei's face was gloomy. In the camp, a person was kowtowing to Zhao Wei. His forehead was stained with blood. This person was none other than the defeated Lieutenant Yang Chao.
Right now, Yang Chao hated himself to death. What was he hiding in his heart back then? To think that he would actually recommend himself. Now that he had recommended himself, he had played himself to death.
Zhao Wei also felt heartache. Five thousand soldiers. Even if they weren't elites, they were still frontline troops. However, they were lost just like that. The total number of people who escaped was only five hundred.
It could be said that the entire establishment was gone.
"Milord, this General Yang Chao isn't an incompetent person. The enemy was too strong. There were more than ten thousand people. That's why General Yang Chao's army was defeated. It's not the General's fault. It's the lack of soldiers!" One of the generals stood up and said to Zhao Wei.
"That's right, Milord. General Yang Chao also said that the enemy had more than ten thousand people. Although our Yunnan army is elite, we can't stop ten thousand people!" Another general stood up.
"Milord, this was a conspiracy from the beginning. These barbarians have an expert behind them. They wanted to use Yunnan as bait!" One by one, the generals spoke up.
They were all pleading for mercy for Yang Chao. It was enough to see that this person had a lot of connections in the army.
"Enough!" Suddenly, Zhao Wei roared. He glared at everyone present. Everyone lowered their heads and didn't dare to look at Zhao Wei.
"Ten thousand troops? Hmph! "Zhao Wei snorted and looked at everyone below.
"Yang Chao, tell me. How many soldiers do you have?" Zhao Wei looked at Yang Chao coldly.
Yang Chao stopped kowtowing and raised his head to look at Zhao Wei. "I, I …" How could Yang Chao not know how many soldiers there were? The total number of enemies was less than three thousand.
The reason why it was ten thousand was because of Yang Chao's words to save his life.
If he said that he was defeated by three thousand barbarians, that would be a huge joke. Zhao Wei might just drag him out and behead him.
Therefore, Yang Chao compromised and became ten thousand. The people on the other side were also helping Yang Chao.
But now, looking at Zhao Wei's angry look, Yang Chao didn't know whether to tell the truth or lie.
Looking at Zhao Wei's eyes, Yang Chao keenly felt that there was killing intent in Zhao Wei's eyes.
Yang Chao couldn't help but shiver in fright. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The bloodstain on his head looked terrifying, but in fact, it wasn't a serious injury. However, if Zhao Wei wanted to kill him, he would be finished.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Chao decided to tell the truth. "Re-reporting to my lord, the enemy, the enemy is less than five thousand!"
Although Yang Chao was prepared to tell the truth, he still made it sound a lot louder. If he really said that he had been defeated by the 3,000 barbarians, even if Zhao Wei did not kill him, he could forget about ever having the chance to lead an army again.
"What?!" Just the number of five thousand gave Zhao Wei and his men a huge shock. Five thousand barbarians actually defeated five thousand Yunnan soldiers.
Although the barbarians would often come out of the mountains, they were actually not regarded as a big problem. This was because generally speaking, the Han soldiers would not be a match for the barbarians in a one-on-one battle. It was also the same in a ten-on-ten battle. However, if it was a hundred against a hundred, or a thousand against a thousand, the Han soldiers would be the main battlefield.
A thousand Han soldiers could completely suppress the five thousand barbarians with their superior weapons, armor, and military formations. This was why the barbarians had never occupied a city.
However, today, they heard a shocking fact. The five thousand barbarians defeated Yang Chao's five thousand main forces.
This was simply a fantasy. There were a few generals who didn't believe it, but looking at Yang Chao's miserable appearance, they had no choice but to believe it.
"Hmph!" Zhao Wei still had a dissatisfied look on his face. Although Yang Chao had said too much, at least he didn't lie to him. If Yang Chao really didn't tell the truth, then Zhao Wei would definitely ruthlessly kill him.
If he deceived his superiors, then this person would be in danger.
"Your General Yang Chao is really a famous general of our Yi Province! Five thousand barbarians against three thousand barbarians, and in the end, they were completely defeated by three thousand barbarians! "Zhao Wei continued to bombard the civil and military officials.
Losing a one-on-one battle was already unimaginable. Now, the barbarians had fewer people than them.
Everyone looked at Yang Chao with sympathy because looking at Zhao Wei's appearance, it would be very difficult for Yang Chao to lead an army.
Yang Chao also lowered his head with a gloomy look on his face.
"However, what I find strange is that these barbarians actually have such weapons in their hands!" Zhao Wei actually took out a war saber.
This war saber emitted a cold light that made people shudder. Zhao Wei ordered someone to bring over one of their weapons. When the two weapons collided, the war saber of Zhao Wei's army directly shattered.
It was a treasured saber. The generals below were not people who could tell good from bad. When they saw this war saber, they couldn't help but reveal a burning gaze.
"Yangzhou war saber!?" A knowledgeable person below recognized the origin of this treasured saber.
That's right, this was the weapon used by the barbarians. Although the barbarians defeated Yang Chao, Yang Chao still had five thousand men under him. That meant that five thousand pigs could still kill two people.
Therefore, two unlucky people were killed. The weapons in their hands were also snatched and sent to Zhao Wei.
"Yangzhou Liu Mang sent out his troops?" Zhao Wei's civil and military officials below were in an uproar.
They had heard of Liu Mang of Yangzhou before. He had hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers under his command and was now the overlord of the Central Plains. In the past, they didn't care because they were too far away.
Now that they saw Yangzhou's weapons, they all panicked. If the Yangzhou army attacked, there was no point in playing. They might as well just surrender.
"Why would Yangzhou's army appear in Yunnan?" Zhao Wei said disdainfully. He looked at the civil and military officials below and a flame of anger rose in his heart.
Yunnan was a mountainous region. If the Yangzhou army attacked, the most worrying person would be Liu Zhang. Perhaps Liu Zhang would have already sent an envoy.
Moreover, there were many mountains in Yunnan. A large-scale army couldn't be used at all. So what if the Yangzhou army arrived?
They were all people who had lived in the plains for a long time. How could they be compared to the natives?
When they heard that it wasn't the Yangzhou army, they calmed down.
"My Lord, if there are only three thousand barbarians, we can completely ignore them. They won't be able to take down Yunnan in a short time. Our top priority is to break through Jianning and take down Jianning City. As long as we take down Jianning City, it won't be too late for us to deal with these barbarians!" One of Zhao Wei's generals stood out and said.
"En!" Zhao Wei nodded. He had already achieved this much in Jianning City. He couldn't lose it.
"My Lord, these three thousand barbarians can actually defeat General Yang Chao. It can be seen that their combat power is not ordinary. We should solve this problem as soon as possible. Now that the Yangzhou army has appeared, things might change if we delay!" Another civil official stood out.
If they were ordinary barbarians, they would just let them go. Generally speaking, barbarians who went down the mountain couldn't survive on the mountain. They had no food to eat, so they went down the mountain one by one. As long as they robbed or asked the Han people to help them reduce their population, they would go back.
However, it was different now. The shadow of Yangzhou had appeared. It was probably not a small problem.
How could they not know about these Yangzhou war swords? In the black market, the prices were determined by the market price. Now, a group of barbarians who were so poor that they only had their underwear left actually had Yangzhou war swords. No one would believe that they didn't have the Yangzhou army behind them.
Zhao Wei also nodded. The shadow of the Yangzhou army was really giving him a headache.
"My Lord, as long as we take down Jianning, then your great cause can be expected. To put it bluntly, even if we lose Yunnan, we still have Hanzhong and Chengdu. Why bother with one city?" The general said something that moved Zhao Wei.
Why did Zhao Wei send troops from Yunnan? Wasn't it because he wanted to get Yizhou, which he had always wanted?
Now, as long as they took down Jianning, it could be said that they could directly face Hanzhong. Although Hanzhong also had a defense line, at least their great cause could be expected, right? It was no longer an illusion.
Zhao Wei's eyes burned with passion.
"My Lord, the Second Young Master is still in Yunnan!" Some people were anxious. Yunnan was their hometown. If it was taken down, they would be the ones to lose. The generals didn't care because their merits were all on the battlefield. Every city they took was a great merit. With these merits, would their Lord, Zhao Wei, treat them unfairly?
If they lost their family business in Yunnan, at worst, they could rebuild Jianning in Hanzhong.
However, Wencheng wasn't so good.
Everyone looked at Zhao Wei.
Zhao Wei's expression became indifferent. His eyes were full of greed. He had already made a decision. "Pass down my orders. Tomorrow morning, the entire army will attack. Cooperate with my son to attack Jianning City. I want them to take down Jianning City in three days!"
In the end, Zhao Wei still chose Jianning City. He chose his great cause. What was a son? As long as he had Yizhou, he, Zhao Wei, would naturally have countless women to give birth to children for him.
"Yes!" The civil official could only shake his head and leave.
"Report, report, report!" A scout rushed in.
"Report, reporting to my Lord. Jianning City, Jianning City!" The scout said, panting.
"What happened to Jianning City?" Zhao Wei asked anxiously.
"Jianning City is empty!" The scout's words stunned everyone.
"Jianning City is empty?" Zhao Wei immediately led his subordinates out of the camp. Indeed, a white flag was fluttering above Jianning City. The city gate was also opened.
"My Lord, this …" The civil and military officials of Yunnan were dumbfounded. What was going on? The city gate was opened. Wasn't this a city defense? Or an empty city strategy?
What a joke! The empty city strategy could only be used to deal with experts. For those who were not intelligent, it was really like delivering food to them. Zhang Yi, who went to the city, did not understand this plaything.
Jianning City was really empty.
Zhao Wei sent a group of soldiers into the city. After searching for a few hours, he led the army into the city. There were really no enemy soldiers in the city. There were not many civilians left. Most of them were old, weak, sick, and disabled people who could not leave.
This Jianning City was really empty. The original defenders had all left.
"How could this be?" Zhao Wei was also dumbfounded. This place, which he had vowed to defend with his life, had now become like this.
Actually, Zhang Yi had already planned to abandon Jianning City from the very beginning. Although Jianning City was located on high ground, there were still people defending it. Over the past few days, Liu Zhang had transferred over half of the soldiers from Jianning City's defensive line to Zhang Yi, leaving him with less than five thousand men. In the end, it was the citizens of Jianning City who took the initiative to climb up the city walls to prevent the collapse of Jianning City.
However, even so, when the Yunnan army attacked at the start, Zhang Yi could only hide like a turtle.
Originally, Zhang Yi was still waiting for Liu Zhang's reinforcements. However, he could not wait anymore. His clan brother, Zhang Ren, sent a letter saying that he was intercepted by the enemy halfway. Although there were not many enemies, it would take ten days to half a month to reach Jianning City.
Ten days to half a month was enough to collect Zhang Yi's corpse. Jianning City could not take it anymore. Zhang Yi decisively led the remaining thousands of soldiers to abandon Jianning's front line and retreat to Hanzhong. There was a garrison there. He wrote a letter to his clan brother, Zhang Ren, to let his army avoid the enemy and gather in Hanzhong.
He was prepared to fight a good battle with Zhao Wei in Hanzhong.
"Congratulations, My Lord. Jianning is already in your hands. Hanzhong is within reach! My Lord's great cause will be successful! " "The generals are all congratulating Zhao Wei.
Wen Cheng was also smiling. Since Zhao Wei had succeeded, the status of his subordinates would naturally rise as well. In the end, they would definitely have a seat.
"Haha!" Zhao Wei angrily accepted the flattery of his subordinates.
Even Yang Chao addressed him as Lord Prefecture Overseer. This made Zhao Wei even happier.
"Father, we should immediately attack Hanzhong and catch Liu Zhang off guard. We should take Hanzhong with lightning speed. This way, Liu Zhang will be a turtle in our jar!" A young man who looked very similar to Zhao Wei spoke.
This person was Zhao Jie. He was the one who led the elites to cross Jianning's defense line and arrived at the back of Jianning City. If not for the fact that Jianning City was under attack, Zhang Yi would not have been so decisive.
"Yes, My Lord. Eldest Young Master is right. We should immediately attack Hanzhong!" “
"My Lord, I am willing to be the vanguard!" One by one, the generals began to ask for battle. Zhao Jie's face was also full of joy.
He originally thought that his father would let him be the vanguard. However, he did not expect Zhao Wei to say something that stunned everyone present.
"Pass down my orders. My son, Zhao Jie, will lead the troops to guard Jianning City. The rest of the troops will light a fire at three in the morning and have breakfast at five in the morning. The entire army will follow me back to Yunnan!" Zhao Wei said something that no one expected.
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