Handan City, Wangcheng South Tower.
Looking at the gradually disappearing Overlord City through the teleportation array, Di Chen had an unreadable smile on his face. "The Overlord Army is bound to face fierce attacks from the Xia army when they head south. They may not be able to hold on.
When Xiong Ba asks for help from the imperial court, it will be time for the imperial court to take complete control of Jiangnan Province. "
Di Chen's plan was very far-reaching.
When Di Chen delayed the return of the Overlord Army, it was not only to trick the Ming army and vent his anger, but also to take the opportunity to suppress the Overlord Army to achieve his hidden agenda.
After defeating Xiong Ba, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty would be under Di Chen's control.
"Xiong Ba, Xiong Ba, you are still my defeated opponent." Di Chen was proud.
From the moment the Great Zhou Dynasty was established and Di Chen was elected as the Emperor, Di Chen had the absolute advantage in the competition with Xiong Ba and the others, and he had the support of righteousness.
Now, Di Chen had turned this advantage into real power.
"I haven't tasted victory in a long time."
At this moment, Di Chen was somewhat intoxicated. Ever since the emergence of Ouyang Shuo, Di Chen had rarely experienced such a strong sense of accomplishment after defeating his opponents one by one.
Other than the Overlord Army, the Red Blood Army and the Red Yang Army also left Handan City.
The Red Yang Army headed south and settled in Ludong Province. Then, they made use of the province's reserves to make up for the shortage of soldiers. To shorten the journey, the Red Blood Army first teleported to Red Blood City and then transferred to Wannan Province.
As for the handover of Donghai Province, it would have to wait until the Red Blood Army left.
…
On the morning of the 1st of September, the Overlord Army returned to Overlord City.
The 300,000-strong army did not stay in the city. Instead, under the command of Wu Qi, they set up camp outside the city, ready to replace the Ming army at any time and take over the defense of the Jiangnan border.
In the afternoon, Marquis Wu and Jiangnan Governor Xiong Ba invited Xuda, Chang Yuchun, and the others to the city to discuss how to complete the handover under the threat of the Great Xia army.
Xuda and the other generals gladly accepted.
In the past week, the Great Xia army had been attacking like fire. Relying on their familiarity with the defense of the border, they had seized cities along the way. Recently, they had started to attack the border cities from both flanks, constantly reducing the space of the Ming army's defense.
Out of the 15 border cities, four had fallen.
If this went on, Xu Da's goal of training his troops would be achieved, but he would also suffer heavy losses.
It wasn't easy to see the return of the Overlord Army, so how could Xu Da not be happy? As for how the Overlord Army was going to resist the attack of the Great Xia army after the withdrawal of the Qing army, it wasn't something that Xu Da should consider.
At three o 'clock in the afternoon, Xu Da brought Chang Yuchun into the city.
With the return of the Overlord Army, the originally dull Overlord City suddenly became lively. The people in the city were very confident in the Overlord Army and the Divine General Wu Qi who led the Overlord Army.
It was no wonder.
In the past few years, under Wu Qi's command, Jiangnan Province had always been impregnable against the Great Xia's Stalwart Tiger Army and had never been invaded. Even if Great Xia took the initiative to attack, the people of Jiangnan still believed in the army.
On the way, Xu Da fell into deep thought when he saw this.
At the Governor's Yamen, Xiong Ba warmly received Xu Da's party, discussing the details of the handover with Wu Qi. Because the border was very long and the situation was special, this discussion lasted for three hours.
At the end, Xiong Ba smiled and said, "The Ming army is loyal and has guarded the Jiangnan border for more than a week without any complaints. On behalf of the people of Jiangnan, I thank you all. It's getting late, and the residence has prepared some wine. Please do me the honor. "
"Thank you, Marquis!"
Seeing that he couldn't decline, Xu Da nodded in agreement.
According to the plan discussed in the afternoon, from tomorrow onwards, the two armies would switch cities by city. At the thought of being able to return to Jianye soon, Xu Da's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed a little.
He didn't expect that the upheaval was just beginning.
It was an old trick that wasn't worth mentioning, but it was very practical.
Just as both sides were getting drunk, Xiong Ba, who was sitting at the head of the table, smashed his cup as a signal. Groups of soldiers rushed out of the door and quickly took down Xu Da and Chang Yuchun.
Chang Yuchun was a fierce general, but he was already half-drunk and didn't have a weapon on him. Under the siege of the elite soldiers, he couldn't fight against so many and was helplessly taken down.
Under the sudden change, Chang Yuchun naturally cursed incessantly, but Xu Da was calm as usual. Looking at Xiong Ba, he said in a low voice, "Marquis, are you representing the Great Zhou to declare war on the Great Ming?"
"The Great Zhou?"
Xiong Ba smiled playfully. "To tell the truth, Jiangnan Province has already decided to submit to the Great Xia."
"What?!"
Xu Da turned pale with fright and lost his composure.
Xu Da couldn't be blamed for panicking. If this matter was initiated by the Great Zhou, then with the existence of the Five Nation Alliance, the Great Ming Dynasty could still deal with it and there would still be a chance for negotiations.
But if it was initiated by the Great Xia, then everything would be over.
Actually, as early as the beginning of July, Ouyang Shuo had sent someone to contact Xiong Ba to discuss the matter of submitting. Following the Great Zhou's defeat in the Great Jin battlefield, Xiong Ba finally made up his mind and took the initiative to present the map of the Jiangnan border as a 'proof of allegiance'.
During the Great Jin war, at the most critical moment, Ouyang Shuo had considered letting the Overlord Army temporarily defect to reverse the situation. But thinking that Xiong Ba wasn't in the army at that time, the risk was too great, so he dropped the idea.
Xiong Ba was indeed an ambitious person. Since he had made up his mind, he wouldn't hesitate. In order to present a big gift to the Great Xia and pave the way for his future position in the Great Xia, he set his sights on the Ming army.
Ouyang Shuo and Xiong Ba hit it off and this was how Sun Bin led his troops to attack Jiangnan.
Not long ago, Di Chen unscrupulously seized power in Handan City, causing the last trace of guilt in Xiong Ba's heart to vanish.
How could Xiong Ba not know that after Lord Chunshen and War Wolf fall, it would be his turn. "Since Di Chen is heartless, then don't blame me for being unjust."
Once the Overlord Army returned, Xiong Ba immediately started without any hesitation.
After a while, Xu Da said gloomily: "This means that from the beginning, the Great Xia army attacking the Jiangnan border was a trap. I was wondering how the enemy understood the Jiangnan defensive line so well. "
At this point, Xu Da couldn't hide the bitterness on his face.
The alliance between Jiangnan Province and the Great Xia was beyond everyone's expectations. But it was also because it happened so suddenly that there was no chance of a comeback. Given the cautiousness of both sides, they definitely wouldn't give the Ming army another chance.
Xu Da looked around and found that Wu Qi was no longer around. He asked: "Have our troops stationed outside the city been killed?"
As the Ming army's command center, because the frontlines were tight, there were only 30,000 Ming troops stationed there. These 30,000 troops were also Xu Da's reserve troops, ready to enter the battlefield at any time.
Once he thought of the 300,000 Overlord Army stationed outside the city, Xu Da's heart turned cold.
Xiong Ba laughed: "General, don't worry. As long as the Ming army outside the city does not resist to the death, I can guarantee their safety."
Xu Da was silent.
Those stationed at the command center were all Xu Da's trusted subordinates. He knew the temperament of these subordinates too well. Before the safety of the commander-in-chief was confirmed, they would never obediently surrender.
Xiong Ba seemed to see through Xu Da's thoughts and said: "To avoid unnecessary casualties, it is better for the general to write a letter and have someone deliver it."
"Impossible."
Xiong Ba didn't care, "General, don't be too sure. To be honest, Emperor Xia has always admired you. If you are willing to join the Great Xia, you will definitely be a commander. "
"Hmph!" Xu Da replied with disdain.
"I know that the general and Emperor Taizu are sworn brothers, but do you not know how you died in history?"
According to Wang Wenlong's "Longxing Ci Ji", when Xu Da was stationed in Beijing, he got gangrene on his back. Due to his illness, he couldn't eat goose. Zhu Yuanzhang gave Xu Da a steamed goose, but Xu Da died after eating it.
After hearing this, Xu Da's expression changed. This was a sore point in his heart and he never dared to think about it.
Xiong Ba didn't plan to let it go, "How did Li Shanzhang, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, Liu Bowen, and Lan Yu die? Do you not know?"
This time, not only Xu Da, but even Chang Yuchun stopped cursing and became silent.
"The general should know that the Great Ming's stage has long been lost in the wilderness. Not only the Great Ming, but Qin, Tang, Song, and other countries are also destined to serve as foils. Do you believe that if the four hundred thousand Ming soldiers can't return to Jianye, the Great Zhou Dynasty will not hesitate and attack the Great Ming? "
Of course, Xu Da believed it.
In the wilderness, strength was everything. The weakened Great Ming Dynasty did not deserve to exist in the wilderness.
"Even if you don't think for yourself, you should think for the thirty thousand soldiers outside the city. If you surrender to the Great Xia, you will have a bright future. If you resist, you will only be annihilated. That is all I have to say, please consider carefully. "
Xu Da didn't say a word. He didn't want to surrender.
Xiong Ba saw this and sighed. He knew that to persuade a general like Xu Da to surrender, it was not something that could be done with just a few words. "If that is the case, then I will have to trouble the two of you. Take them away and put them in custody!"
"Yes!"
That night, under Wu Qi's command, the Overlord's army attacked the Ming Army's headquarters.
The Ming Army was caught unprepared and outnumbered. The two sides fought until late into the night and the Ming Army lost more than five thousand soldiers before they stopped fighting and surrendered. If Wu Qi didn't deliberately reduce the number of casualties, the thirty thousand Ming Army wouldn't have lasted until late at night. After all, the difference in military strength was too great.
Of course, this night battle couldn't be hidden from the eyes of the Imperial Wind.
Di Chen received the report and questioned Xiong Ba through the communication compass that night, but Xiong Ba ignored him and even closed the transportation formation in the Overlord City. Di Chen knew that the situation was not good and gathered all the officials that night for a meeting.
A storm suddenly descended on the Great Zhou Dynasty.
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