Nan Jiyun led a thousand soldiers, disguised as a caravan, and headed in the direction of Nanning Province in batches, ready to take over this important city.
The garrison of Nanning Province only consisted of three hundred soldiers under Cuan Chongdao's command. Their defense was extremely weak. If not for the annihilation of Cuan Shouyu's main force, the city would definitely have been captured by Cuan Shouyu.
There were only thirty garrisons at the west gate, symbolically guarding the gate. There were ten on the gate tower and twenty below. Moreover, all of them looked listless. Perhaps they felt that after the annihilation of Cuan Shouyu's army, there was no other force capable of attacking Nanning Province. They obviously didn't know about the existence of the army.
"Stop. What are you doing?"
As soon as they reached the gate, Nan Jiyun's hundred soldiers were stopped.
"General, we are lychee sellers."
Nan Jiyun replied.
"Okay, go in."
"No, they are not merchants."
A garrisoned soldier found that these merchants were all burly and didn't look like merchants at all.
"Do it."
Nan Jiyun made a prompt decision and gave the order to attack. He took control of all twenty garrisoned soldiers near the gate.
With a sword on their neck, these garrisoned soldiers immediately became much more obedient. None of them dared to make a sound. What surprised these garrisoned soldiers the most was that the merchants in front of them moved extremely quickly. Before they could shout, they had already taken control of all twenty of them. They originally thought that they were bandits from the mountain, but judging from the current situation, these people were undoubtedly well-trained regular soldiers.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Nan Jiyun didn't waste any time and shouted, "Tell everyone on the gate tower to come down."
"Yes, yes, yes, brothers on the gate, come down, all of you come down."
Soon, the ten garrisoned soldiers on the gate tower walked down the wall and were quickly controlled by the soldiers lying in ambush.
At this point, the army led by Nan Jiyun took over the west gate of Nanning Province without shedding a drop of blood. Then, the hundreds of soldiers behind the army arrived one after another. They divided into several groups and took control of the entire province, capturing all three hundred garrisoned soldiers.
Ang Lee didn't give any instructions on how to deal with these surrendered soldiers, so Nan Jiyun locked them up and waited for Ang Lee to deal with them when he arrived at the city.
After conquering Nanning Province, Nan Jiyun and a thousand soldiers were responsible for guarding the city. They immediately reported the good news to Ang Lee.
"Nan Jiyun really didn't disappoint me. She actually took Nanning Province without shedding a drop of blood. Now, our army finally has a foothold in Cuandi."
"General, the Nanzhao Army and Cuan Chongdao are in the midst of a fierce battle. What should we do next? Should we sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, or should we immediately attack and help one side?"
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said with a smile, "I'm here to seize territory. It's best not to fight if I can. Of course, if someone wants to provoke my army, we can't be afraid. This is my principle."
"Reporting, General, the Nanzhao Army has been chasing after Cuan Chongdao's ten thousand soldiers and horses. They have surrounded Weizhou City and launched a fierce siege."
A scout reported.
Ang Lee and the other generals all looked relaxed. The fiercer the battle between Nanzhao and Cuan Chongdao was, the more advantageous it was for the army.
"Wasn't Kun Province captured by the Nanzhao Army? How many garrisoned soldiers are there?"
Ang Lee asked.
"General, there are no Nanzhao garrisoned soldiers in Kun Province City. It's an empty city."
The scout reported.
"An empty city? How can it be an empty city? Nanzhao worked so hard to capture the city. Why didn't they send troops to guard it? This doesn't make sense."
"General, could this be Nanzhao's plan?"
"General, I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why don't we just take Kun Province City?"
The generals began to quarrel with each other.
Ang Lee waved his hand to quiet the generals and said loudly, "Soldiers, since Kun Province City is an empty city, why should we be polite? All troops immediately get ready to take Kun Province City."
"Yes, General."
Upon hearing the order, all the generals immediately went to prepare.
"Big Brother, why didn't Nanzhao garrisoned soldiers in Kun Province City? This is the city they worked so hard to capture."
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Big Brother's guess is that the Nanzhao Army that attacked Kun Province City for two days has developed hatred with the people in the city. If Nanzhao wants to garrison Kun Province City and maintain order and stability in the city, they must have three to five thousand soldiers. Otherwise, if they leave three to five hundred soldiers, they might not be able to control the situation and cause unnecessary casualties and arouse greater hatred. Nanzhao is anxious to destroy Cuan Chongdao and is unwilling to station three to five thousand soldiers in Kun Province City. They want to concentrate all their troops to destroy Cuan Chongdao in one fell swoop and then slowly deal with Kun Province City. Anyway, the garrisoned soldiers in Kun Province City have been wiped out by them. The scattered soldiers are not enough to pose the slightest threat to the Nanzhao Army. In short, Nanzhao probably thinks that Kun Province City won't run away if they leave Cuan Chongdao there."
"Haha, Nanzhao's carelessness is going to benefit us. This time, we'll take Kun Province City without shedding a drop of blood."
Li Kunxiong was overjoyed.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Of course, Kun Province City is at our fingertips. However, Nanzhao will be very unhappy. I'm afraid a war is unavoidable."
"Big Brother, our army is so elite. How can we be afraid of Nanzhao? Let's fight and destroy them in one fell swoop."
Li Kunxiong was very confident.
Ang Lee quickly waved his hand and said, "Please don't. Nanzhao is a good ally of the Tang dynasty. The Tang dynasty can't fight against Tufan without Nanzhao's help. Therefore, we can't let the Nanzhao Army suffer too many losses. It's enough to teach them a lesson and let them know the terrifying strength of our army. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Big Brother. I understand. You just want to tell Nanzhao what can and can't be given to them."
"Yes, that's what I mean. You go to Nanning Province first and tell Big Brother's intention to Nan Jiyun. Tell him to guard Nanning Province well."
"Yes, Big Brother. I'll go right away."
After some simple preparations, Ang Lee personally led the main force of 4,000 troops and rushed to Kun Province City at the fastest speed. In order to avoid being discovered early, the soldiers still didn't wear military uniforms and moved in small sections.
In order to avoid any unexpected situations as much as possible, the cavalry soldiers went first, followed by the battle group, and the supply troops went last. A battle group was responsible for protection.
Ang Lee's request was to successfully reach Kun Province City after a day and night of rapid march and quickly deploy defense facilities to guard against possible provocation from Nanzhao's army.
####
In the direction of Yuzhou City, Cuan Chongdao and his 10,000 troops were holed up in Weizhou City and didn't dare to come out. The Nanzhao Army took the opportunity to surround the city, making it difficult for Cuan Chongdao to escape.
"First Prince, Weizhou City has been surrounded by our army. Cuan Chongdao can't escape."
Gelofeng's expression was rather proud. He looked at Duan Jianwei and asked doubtfully, "Mr. Duan, didn't you say that you've persuaded Cuan Chongdao to join us in a pincer attack? Why is there still no sign of Cuan Shouyu's army?"
Obviously, Gelofeng was a little angry. Since both sides agreed to act together, they had to fulfill their promise. In Gelofeng's view, Cuan Shouyu obviously didn't fulfill his promise. Otherwise, why would there be no movement after so long?
Duan Jianwei also didn't understand the situation. He said respectfully, "First Prince, please calm down. I've already sent people to Nanning Province to investigate the situation. I think there will be news soon."
"Mr. Duan, a messenger pigeon."
A Nanzhao soldier walked into the tent and handed the messenger pigeon to Duan Jianwei.
Duan Jianwei took a look and said in shock, "First Prince, Cuan Shouyu's 10,000 troops were all wiped out by Cuan Chongdao two days ago."
"What, how is that possible?"
Gelofeng obviously didn't believe it. After all, Cuan Shouyu had more than 10,000 troops under his command. Moreover, they had persisted in Nanning Province for so long. How could they be wiped out by Cuan Chongdao so easily?
Duan Jianwei explained, "First Prince, this is absolutely true. According to our people's investigation, not long after our army attacked Kun Province, Cuan Chongdao led all the main forces stationed in Nanning Province to reinforce Kun Province. There were only 300 soldiers guarding the city. When Cuan Shouyu saw that Nanning Province was empty, he immediately led all the main forces to enter Nanning Province. Unexpectedly, Cuan Chongdao's main forces suddenly turned around and wiped out Cuan Shouyu's army."
Gelofeng was shocked and asked softly, "How is Cuan Shouyu now? Is he dead?"
"When he broke out of the encirclement, there were only a hundred cavalry behind him. Now, he has fled to Dongcuan and sought refuge with his grandfather."
Duan Jianwei explained.
Gelofeng sighed and looked at Duan Jianwei, "It seems that Cuan Chongdao is still a talent. He actually turned passive into active and used this passive opportunity to wipe out Cuan Shouyu's troops in one fell swoop. Amazing, this is quite similar to Mister."
"First Prince, what do you mean?"
Gelofeng smiled, "When our army besieged Kun Province City, Cuan Chongdao's reinforcements suddenly arrived. Our army was originally in a disadvantageous situation, but Mister used this disadvantageous situation to allow our army to easily break through Kun Province City and wipe out all the Cuan Chongdao's troops guarding the city."
"First Prince, you flatter me. This is just a small trick."
Gelofeng frowned and looked at Duan Jianwei, "Mister, how do you think we should attack Weizhou City? Do you have a strategy?"
Duan Jianwei was stunned for a moment and said seriously, "First Prince, don't be anxious. Let me think about it."
After thinking for a while, Duan Jianwei said seriously, "First Prince, we can use the internal disintegration technique to let the Cuan Chongdao's followers, Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi, fight against Cuan Chongdao. This way, we can effortlessly attack Weizhou City."
Gelofeng nodded lightly, "Mister plans to use it, but how? Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi will listen to Mister's arrangements."
"First Prince, as of now, Cuan Chongdao's annihilation is only a matter of time. Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi will understand this logic. As long as we give them benefits and make it clear that all the blame is on Cuan Chongdao and has nothing to do with Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi, as long as they are willing to be spies, after we break through the city, not only will we let bygones be bygones, but we can also give them the Cuan Chongdao's territory."
Duan Jianwei said seriously.
Gelofeng heard this and nodded repeatedly, "Brilliant plan, Mister's brilliant plan. This way, our army's casualties will be greatly reduced. Conquering Weizhou City will be as easy as pie. Mister can immediately arrange it. Xiao Wang will wait for your good news."
"Yes, First Prince, I will go arrange it now."
After Duan Jianwei returned to his tent, he carefully ran through the plan a few times. After confirming that it was ready, he immediately sent out his confidants to carry it out.
Within Weizhou City, a large number of injured soldiers were sitting in the streets and alleys of the city. The soldiers who weren't injured were also listless. After all, they had just lost a battle, how could their mental state be good?
The soldiers weren't in a good state, and as the commander, they were also very anxious. The battle in the open field had already made them realize that their battle strength was indeed far inferior to the Nanzhao Army. Now, they were surrounded by the enemy, and there definitely wouldn't be any reinforcements outside. This made them feel that their future was hopeless, and death seemed to be their only outcome. And this kind of hopeless thinking would definitely cause the morale of the soldiers to be unstable. Many soldiers had thoughts of escaping. After all, preserving their lives was the most important thing. Not every soldier was loyal to their master.
At this moment, not only did the ordinary soldiers have second thoughts, even Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi regretted not leaving Cuan Chongdao earlier, which led to their current situation.
In other words, the alliance between Cuan Qi, Cuan Shouyi, and Cuan Chongdao was very weak. It wasn't an unbreakable relationship, and Duan Jianwei had obviously guessed this point correctly.
After Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi received Duan Jianwei's promise, they resolutely decided to cooperate with the Nanzhao Army to take down Weizhou City. The agreed time was midnight.
"Father, all of our troops are here, and there are no reinforcements to save us. What should we do?"
Cuan Fuchao was a little anxious.
Cuan Chongdao was obviously even more anxious. He helplessly said, "Things have already come to this, so what can I do? It seems like Cuan Land will belong to the Nanzhao people in the future. Cuan Gui Wang, Cuan Rijin, Cuan Shouyu, and us have all been exhausted in the internal conflict. There is no one left who can go against the Nanzhao Army."
"Father, are we just going to stay in the city and wait for death? Let's break out of the encirclement. Perhaps there is still a way out."
Cuan Fuchao wasn't willing to be trapped in the city alone. He still wanted to live.
Cuan Chongdao's face was filled with confusion. He looked at his son and said softly, "Weizhou is our foundation. If we leave our foundation, where can we go? As long as we choose to leave, the tens of thousands of troops under our command will instantly fall apart. Furthermore, we are weak and will definitely not be able to escape death. If we defend the city, perhaps there is still a chance of survival."
"Father, the morale of the soldiers in the city is extremely low. I am worried that someone will betray us."
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