The guards helped Jiang Lou out of the big tent and he sat back down on his seat. Shangguan Yuanbiao snorted coldly and said: "This Jiang Lou, he's really going too far."
Tang Yin also felt that Jiang Lou was being excessive, but now was the time to hire someone, and since Jiang Lou was truly talented, he could only endure the disgust in his heart.
Not long after, Zi Ying returned to his tent, holding a recently written letter, he carefully passed it to Le Tian, cupped his hands, and said meaningfully: "The life of my entire family, young and old, is mine for the general!"
Le Tian's expression became serious. At the same time that he received the letter, he said, "General Zi Ying, don't worry, I will do my best."
"Thank you, thank you!"
After Zi Ying finished talking with Le Tian, he bowed deeply to Tang Yin and said with a troubled look on his face: "I was too rude just now, I hope Master does not take offense to it."
Tang Yin secretly nodded his head. Not only is Zi Ying's ability outstanding, his character is also humble and amiable. He smiled slightly and said: "What is General Zi Ying saying, quickly take a seat!"
"Yes sir!"
Yue Tian didn't dare delay Zi Ying's family, and immediately sent a message to Sky Eye Scout in the form of a pigeon that very night. Le Tian was the person in charge of the Sky Eye, so the spies below naturally followed Le Tian's orders.
After receiving his message, Sky Eye Scout immediately gathered, and went to Zi Ying's residence early the next morning. Because Zi Ying's family letter was with him, everything went smoothly. Zi Ying's family was around twenty years old, and did not move in a large force, and only packed a few small things. She followed Sky Eye Scout out the back door, and got into the carriage that she prepared beforehand, and left the residence without anyone noticing.
Zi Ying's family members were taken away by the Sky Eye Scout for two whole days, and only then did the news of Zi Ying leading a large group of people to rely on Tianyuan Army reach his mind. surrender was not a big deal, what was important was that the Peng Army under his seventy thousand men had also gone with him to the Tianyuan Army. As a result, Zhong Tian only had a hundred thousand Central Army left in his army, and relying on this kind of person to go against hundreds of thousands of people with aggressive Tianyuan Army was simply a fantasy.
At first, Zhong Tian felt great sorrow, he was anxious and angry, he stomped his feet repeatedly in the palace hall, then he became furious and ordered his guards to immediately capture Zi Ying's family and kill them all.
The guards took the orders and left, but when they reached Zi Ying's home, they realised that the place was already empty, they anxiously returned to the palace to report to Zhong Tian. Hearing what was said, Zhong Tian gritted his teeth in anger, and his fists were clenched so tightly that creaking sounds came out, there was no need to ask, Zi Ying's opponent had definitely planned this beforehand, if not, how did his family disappear?
The flustered and exasperated Zhong Tian sent out another order to capture all of Zi Ying's family members. At this time, all of the advisers under his command became anxious, and they all stepped forward and cupped their hands together as they said: "Great King, since the Tianyuan Army has already been seized, then we will be able to reach the Yan City in a few days. Great King, quickly make a decision!"
Zhong Tian's face flushed red, his white beard trembled, he frowned and asked: What decision?
"Our Army... Is our army going to fight or … Or retreat? " The strategists wanted to say that they had escaped, but they felt that it wasn't appropriate to say that.
"Withdraw? As the ruler of a nation, how could I be scared off by the rebel army? " Zhong Tian's face turned from red to green, he looked at the advisers below and asked: "Could it be that all of you are the same as Zi Ying, secretly communicating through Tianyuan Army?"
Everyone kneeled on the ground, kowtowed and bowed to him, while stuttering, "Great King, we definitely do not have any secret Tianyuan Army heart, and we would not dare to do something so outrageous like this, Great King Ming Zha!"
Even Zi Ying, whom he trusted and valued so much, had gone over to the Tianyuan Army side. Zhong Tian looked at the many people in the imperial court, and felt that there was no one that he could truly rely on and rely on. Looking at the people lying on the ground, he sighed to himself.
Zhong Tian was very clear in his heart. The only thing he wanted to do was to stay in the Yan City and live in the palace there. He was the true ruler of the Peng Country. However, with hundreds of thousands of Tianyuan Army approaching, would they be able to resist it with just their own hundred thousand Central Army?
Seeing the look of hesitation on Zhong Tian's face, the strategists looked at each other and one of them said: "As the king, we should focus on the big picture. With Tianyuan Army approaching aggressively and with morale at its peak, the king should not resist them and should first retreat to the Wan City. "In addition, the King can leave a capable general in the city to command our troops and defend against the rebel army."
The Wan City was the closest city to the Yan City, which was located to the south, and was less than a hundred kilometers away. In the Wan City, Zhong Tian's power was also extremely deep, and in the north, there was the ability to resist the sharpness of the Tianyuan Army, hence they were in a much safer situation. After Zhong Tian heard this, he felt that this idea was not bad. He purposefully revealed a difficult expression and said faintly: "In such a dangerous situation, as the Sovereign King, how could I run away without fighting, afraid of death?"
"No, no, no!" The advisor hurriedly said, "It's definitely not that the King fled without a fight, but she's temporarily retreating to the back. With the prestige of the King, she's organizing her forces and is looking for an opportunity to attack and rebel."
"Yes!" After Zhong Tian heard this, he nodded his head, feeling satisfied, he looked at the generals on his left and asked: "May I ask which general is willing to have Wang Shi stay in the city to defend against the rebellion?"
After Zhong Tian finished speaking, the great hall was extremely quiet, and there was not even a single reply. The military generals under his command lowered their heads, not daring to breathe. If there was a hole in the ground beneath their feet, they would have dived in without hesitation.
At this time, who would still be willing to stay in the Yan City? Who wouldn't want to follow Zhong Tian to the Wan City? If he stayed, there was a high chance that he would die. If he followed Zhong Tian, there might still be a slim chance of survival.
After waiting for a while, seeing that no one responded, Zhong Tian frowned and asked: Which generals are willing to stay in the capital?
Just like before, no one replied. Zhong Tian's fury collided, he fiercely slammed the table, stood up, pointed at the generals, and cursed: "Trash! They were all trash! Where is your usual might? Now that there's a need for you guys, why are you all pretending to be deaf and mute? "
Under Zhong Tian's scolding, all the generals lowered their heads even lower. Just then, someone stepped forward and said solemnly: "King Father, I am willing to guard the city!"
Zhong Tian anxiously looked over, and it turned out that the person who spoke was none other than his second son, Zhong Wu. Zhong Tian was his most favored son, and the only one he could count on. He wanted Zhong Wu to stay behind to defend against Tianyuan Army, what if something bad happened to him?
Taking a deep breath, Zhong Tian's face darkened, and said coldly: "All the generals in the imperial court are your seniors, do you know how to lead your troops, brat? Do you know how to govern? "
Zhong Wu was still not convinced and wanted to argue, but Zhong Tian already waved his hand and shouted: "War is not child's play, there's no place for you to talk, go back!"
Sigh! Zhong Wu sighed. He had no choice but to retreat.
Zhong Tian did not wait for the generals to volunteer themselves and directly called out: "Chief General Li Qi!"
"This official is here!" Following Zhong Tian's orders, a middle ranking officer hurried forward.
"Middle General Xu Hui!"
"This official is here!"
"Middle General Ye Cheng!"
"This official is here!"
"Middle General Wei Xuan!"
"This official is here!"
Zhong Tian pointed out eight generals in one breath, one of them being the Chief General, the other five being Middle General, and two being general with a flat head. He looked around at the generals that he had pointed out and said: "You shall lead 80,000 officers to guard the capital, Chief General is the commander, the other being the subordinates, working together to fight the enemy, no mistakes can be made!"
After Zhong Tian finished speaking, the eight generals who stood out did not say a word, as cold sweat flowed down their bodies.
Zhong Tian's eyes shone with a sinister light, and he asked: What's wrong? The generals are unwilling to accept the order? "
The eight of them were all shocked. They didn't dare to hesitate anymore. They all kneeled down on one knee and said, "This subject receives the order!"
"Yes!" Seeing this, Zhong Tian nodded his head in satisfaction, and laughed: "Then, this king will wait at Wan City for the good news of you generals retreating!"
"Yes!" "Great King!" Zhong Tian was not waiting for the good news of his own side retreating, but to wait for his people to report it! It was impossible for one to win, no matter how strong the Yan City was or how improved the defense of the city, they could only temporarily gather 80,000 Central Army and try their best to resist hundreds of thousands of Mighty Army s which were courageous and warlike.
Sigh! I'm going to give up waiting! Without waiting for to call upon them, the eight generals left behind for battle had already lost all hope.
Zhong Tian continued: "In order to ensure the safety of the families of all the generals, this king will bring them to the Wan City."
His meaning was obvious. He wanted to capture the families of eight people as hostages to prevent Zi Ying from defying the order again.
All the generals knew that this was the case, so they scolded Zhong Tian's ancestors once in their hearts. However, they had to show respect on their faces, not only could they not complain, they even had to kowtow and express their gratitude to Zhong Tian.
Zhong Tian accepted the advice of the advisor, brought the concubines of the imperial harem, the ministers of the imperial court, and many palace guards, as well as 20,000 Central Army, and escaped to the Wan City, living in the palace of the Wan City.
Following the transfer of the Peng Country to the Wan City, many of the rich and powerful families who were affiliated with Zhong Tian also followed them into the Wan City. As a result, the Yan City immediately became much more desolate, and the atmosphere of the great battle soon became even denser.
scoffed at the news that Zhong Tian had escaped into the Wan City as well. Back then, Qiu Zhen's guess was indeed correct, he had indeed chosen to flee towards the south, but the Ba Pass had long been in his hands. If Zhong Tian were to head south, there would only be a dead end.