At the end of May, as the Hedong army conquered the city and surrounded the retreating Zhang Yang in Yewang City, the Hongnong envoy who took advantage of the situation also arrived in a light carriage, crossed the river and came to Anyi.

Anyi, in the lobby of the county government.

Yan Xing, wearing an official robe and seal, sat in the upper head with his straight face, and the civil and military officials in Hedong sat in two rows in the hall. Everyone was staring at the envoy from Hongnong. Some of the generals were about to spit out fire, and their fists were clenched, and they had the intention to swallow the envoy of Hongnong alive.

"Empress, General Zhendong's demands are too much. He is not borrowing grain or passage from Hedong. This is clearly just to take advantage of the injustice of Hedong to attack Hedong. The alliance between the two families still exists. General Zhendong just turned against him. Isn't he afraid that the people in the world will sneer, and aren't he worried that the Chang'an court will blame him?"

Zhou Liang stood up and stood in the hall. He was the one who received the Hongnong envoy into the city, but he was very secretive from the beginning, saying that he had to meet the Hedong Prefect and General Pingbei before he could explain General Zhendong's request to Hedong.

Although I had long expected that the Hongnong envoy who came here at this time would not have any good things, Zhou Liang did not expect that this time, Hongnong had hidden weapons under completely harsh demands, and he almost turned against each other and sent troops to attack.

Five hundred thousand stones of military rations are simply the appetite of Taotie. Hedong worked hard to cultivate land and accumulate grain for a year last year, and there were no natural disasters and man-made disasters. Yan Xing restrained his troops and did not have large-scale wars. It was just to attack Zhang Yang and Lu Bu, Hanoi at the turn of spring and summer this year, and saved nearly one million stones of food.

This batch of grain stocks will be used for the current war in Hanoi, as well as post-war rewards, pensions, relief, and investment in restoring Henan's livelihood production.

Zhang Ji asked for so much food when he spoke, and he obviously wanted to tear his face apart and rob him.

If the food matter can be delayed, Zhang Ji has already put his arms on the guise of "military situation is like fire and urgent" and can indulge the iron cavalry to gallop across Henan, trampling on Henan, and then attack Guo, using Henan as a springboard to intervene in the war in Henoi, causing the Hedong army to fail and return.

Hedong will not have any breath and the chance to recover. At this most critical moment, both sides either accept Hongnong's various harsh and unreasonable demands, or face Hongnong's aggressive military front!

Hongnong envoy Kong Wu Youli was obviously a military officer. He was fearless, kept in mind Zhang Ji's instructions, saw the reaction of the Hedong civil and military officials in the hall, and then smiled:

"Mr. Zhou is such a bad word. When borrowing grain, General Zhendong led a large army to eat Nanyang as soon as the spring was in spring. However, the military rations were not enough and he could not make a move. Now Hedong can send troops to conquer Zhang Yang and Lu Bu in Henoi. Obviously, the county sanctuary is quite stockpiled. Since the two families have a covenant, what can they do if they borrow some military rations?"

"As for the matter of using the road, General Pingbei operated Henan, didn't he need to borrow from me, Hongnong by land? From Nanyang, the road is closer, which is conducive to my Hongnong army's journey to war. Why did he turn against each other? Please teach me!"

The envoy Hongnong smiled. His words were rough and rare, and he did not quote scriptures like a civil servant. However, the more straightforward and simple his words were, the less loopholes he could question. It seemed that everything was just right.

When Zhao Hong heard the arguments from the Hongnong envoy, he sneered and said:

"The emperor is very proud, but the plan for spring can be delayed until now. If you borrow food and roads, you will have to fight against Hedong and Hanoi. You have tried your best and chose a good opportunity!"

Borrowing grain, borrowing roads, or fake roads to attack Guo are not a clever plan. If it were placed before the war between Hedong and Hanoi, Hedong could handle delays in borrowing grain. Even if Zhang Ji's army was released on the road, Zhang Ji would still worry whether Hedong would take the opportunity to cut off his retreat.

But at the moment, it is a fatal matter. The battle situation in Hanoi has entered a stalemate. At this time, no matter whether there is a shortage of military rations or Zhang Ji's army suddenly appears in the rear, it will easily cause a great chaos in the morale of the Hedong army and turn victory into defeat.

This result is by no means acceptable to Hedong.

No matter how the envoy sent by Zhang Ji defended, the reason why the Hongnong side demanded was a sinister intention in terms of timing alone, and it was obvious.

The Hongnong envoy simply laughed a few times, stopped talking, but turned to Yan Xing, who was in power, waiting for him to answer Hongnong's request.

Yan Xing did not make a statement immediately, but Gongcao Wei from the county government came forward. He did not question the envoy Hongnong like Zhou Liang and Zhao Hong, but said with a kind smile:

"This matter is of great importance. The emperor of the government needs to discuss with the county government official. The envoy may as well go to the inn in the city to rest first. After the decision is made by the government, please ask the envoy to come and reply to Hongnong's request."

"Okay, if General Pingbei and you need to discuss, then let me discuss it. I am just here to inform you at the order of General Zhendong. Now that the mission is completed, I am going to say goodbye and leave. General Pingbei has decided what to do. Let me send an envoy to Hongnong to visit General Zhendong!"

When he heard that Wei Ji wanted to use the delaying strategy, he stabilized himself first. The Hongnong envoy who had been entangled in the hall for a long time estimated that the mission had been achieved and Hedong's foundation was basically clear. Haha, he didn't care about the excuse, but said goodbye directly and did not want to stay in Hedong anymore, so he had to leave straight and leave.

Yan Xing and other military generals in the hall had been patient for a long time. When they saw that the envoy Hongnong disagrees, they no longer care about Yan Xing's face. They bowed their hands and wanted to leave. They were furious and stood up suddenly and wanted to take the other party.

"It's a presumptuous person, this is the Hedong County Government. How can you allow the priests to be rampant? Stop it!"

As soon as the generals and schoolmen in Hedong stood up, their tongues burst into thunder, and the whole hall was full of sound. Although the Hongnong envoy was a military official and had some courage, he did not dare to act rashly for the time being. He just pretended to be calm. Looking at the angry generals and schoolmen in Hedong, he forced a smile on his face and asked coldly:

"Why, General Pingbei has to detain the envoy in the lobby with just this little weapon?"

"presumptuous!"

“Bold!”

Yan Xing and Xu Kun shouted violently, furious, and had already taken steps to approach and take down the Hongnong envoy and wait for Yan Xing to make a comeback. At this time, Yan Xing, who had been silent, finally spoke, and he said steadily:

"Ji Qi, Ziyu, don't be reckless, go back!"

Hearing Yan Xing's voice in the head, he had already strode to the Hongnong envoy, and almost reached out to press Xu Kun, whom he had pressed. Yan Xing paused for a moment, followed Yan Xing's order and retreated again.

The Hongnong envoy saw that Yan Xing did not want to take his anger, and his face relaxed a little. However, after such a small episode, the atmosphere in the hall was tense, but he did not dare to leave as arrogant as he was at the beginning.

Yan Xing's gaze was focused. The Hongnong envoy who had never been on the power of a fox and tiger. He saw the other party's hesitation and knew that the other party was just a vicious dog who had something to rely on. He simply waved his hand and said:

"Let's go, I have already understood the meaning of General Zhendong, but please go back and tell General Zhendong that if you do evil, you will die. Don't say that you are not prepared for your words!"

If the envoy Hongnong got Yan Xing's release, his heart was finally relaxed a little. After experiencing the rage of thunder, he also knew that if he was a messenger who took advantage of the situation, if he met a general who was furious, he would be unable to escape the fate of being killed and venting his anger.

It is already a blessing for the heavens to complete his mission and still save his life. However, Yan Xing's words are hard to figure out and he doesn't know how to respond, so he has to agree verbally first, then step up and leave quickly.

When the Hongnong envoy left, the civil and military officials in the hall became noisy. Zhang Ji's intention was obvious. If he accepted Hongnong's conditions, he would undoubtedly be mermaid meat. He could refuse and face the struggle directly, and face the army's attacks, which was only separated by a river by Hongnong under the unfavorable situation of the army's war.

At this moment, some civil officials suggested that Yan Xing first submit to the Chang'an court, impeach Zhang Ji to ignore the atrocities of the emperor and invade neighboring counties, and then transfer Zhai Hao's troops to defend against Henan, Ganling, and Xu Huang's army to return to Hedong to set up defenses to resist the possible invasion of Hongnong's troops.

There were also military generals who asked for orders to go to Dayang to set up defenses and were willing to make an order to defend Dayang's defense line before the army took down Zhang Yang, the wild king, and suggested giving up Henan and shrinking the defense line's troops, so that after taking down Zhang Yang, they could concentrate their troops to counter-defense and attack Zhang Ji, who took advantage of the situation, and comprehensively attacked Zhang Ji.

He listened patiently to various suggestions from civil and military officials, Yan Xing looked solemn, and finally said calmly:

"Now Zhang Yang has been besieged by Shusheng and Gongming's army in Yewang City, and Lu Bu also fled to Ji County, but he will still fight to trap beasts. At this time, the soldiers who went out to fight without avoiding arrows and stones and fought hard. As a general, I cannot go to command and provide for the injured soldiers. As the prefect, I cannot personally pack up food and lead the civil servants to transport food and grass. It is already a dereliction of duty. I must not let the soldiers withdraw their troops and take huge risks because of the deterrence of Hongnong Zhang Ji."

"Zhang Ji's borrowing of the road and grain this time was nothing more than trying to take advantage of the fact that my Hedong soldiers and horses were fighting outside, and use this as an excuse to lead the army into our Hedong land. I have decided to lead the army in person to resist the invasion of Hongnong's soldiers and horses in the south."

Hearing Yan Xing's decision, the civil and military officials in the hall were a little anxious.

This time, more than 30,000 soldiers and horses were deployed to the Henei battlefield, including elite soldiers such as Ganling, Xu Huang, and Zhai Hao. If there were additional civil servants who transported food and grass for a short distance, there would be 40,000 people.

The troops were strong and the supply of food, grass and supplies were constantly supplied. This was the reason why the Hedong army was as powerful as the war started, attacking Zhang Yang and Lu Bu retreated step by step.

But because of this, the current defense force in Hedong is quite weak. Even if Cao Yuan's military farmer who was transferred from the northern border to move south, plus the remaining troops in Anyi and the guards drawn from Jie County and Yi County, he could only raise 20,000 troops, and more than half of them were new soldiers who had never been on the battlefield.

It is really difficult to defend Hongnong Zhang Ji's 50,000 troops with such troops.

Other generals defended the city and delayed it hard. Even if the city was destroyed, they might be able to pacify Hanoi. When Ganling and Xu Huang's army returned to defend Hedong, they would not give Zhang Ji's army a chance to annex Hedong. But if Yan Xing personally led the army and left Anyi, if there were few enemies and failed, Hedong would have no chance to turn the tables. The army on the front line of Hanoi might collapse and be defeated.

Considering this consequence, many civil and military officials in the hall advised Yan Xing to stay calm and stay in Anyi, send Yan Xing and Xu Kun to lead the troops to guard Dayang, or transfer Cao Yuan's military farmer to the south. They should not take risks themselves and put their lives and Hedong's great careers in danger.

Yan Xing, Xu Kun and other generals even rush to ask for an order, and issued a military order, leading the army to Dayang to set up defenses along the river, which would inevitably defend the south direction for the east of the river.

However, this time Yan Xing shook his head and did not intend to accept the advice of his civil and military officials. He said without changing his color:

"I know the concerns of the two and three sons. It is not that I don't know that the enemy and us are disparate, and the battle formation is dangerous. It is just that I personally lead the army, so that the military can be motivated and the hasty gathered warriors, county soldiers, and military farms can be properly commanded, and there will be no phenomenon of disobeying each other and causing chaos in the camp."

"Secondly, at this critical moment, if the lieutenant general leads troops, he will inevitably be worried and dare not let go. He only knows that he will defend the city to the death. Even if a fighter appears, he will be worried again and again. He even needs to send a fast horse back to Anyi for advice. However, I sit in the city and do not come to the battle formation in person. I just report the army's edicts, and it is even more difficult to make a decision. In this way, the three armies are suspicious and will only be more dangerous."

"Only by myself, I can be able to be motivated by the army, make clear orders, communicate with each other, and use decisive troops. Therefore, I need to lead the troops myself this time!"

Yan Xing's consideration was thorough and careful. According to Yan Xing's consistent ability and victory, he was indeed the last commander to be the current commander. He could exert the maximum combat power of the troops gathered in Hedong urgently. However, in this way, he still had to bear huge risks. The battle formation was dangerous, and no one could guarantee that Yan Xing would be safe and sound, and the situation could be as smooth as Yan Xing said.

So although the advice from the civil and military officials was not so intense, some officials still planned to continue to persuade him. Yan Xing had no extra time and spent the time in the hall debating who would be the most appropriate general. He directly ordered to start to call the general to mobilize troops.

Yan Xing, Xu Kun and other generals in the hall heard the news and left the list, and Xi Zhicai, Sun Zi, Pei Ji and others were also ordered to follow the army. Yan Xing then sent Bao to Linfen to hold the tiger talisman and send an order, ordering Cao Yuan, who had already moved his army to prepare for war, immediately led 10,000 military farm soldiers to go south quickly and come to Anyi to meet.

The war is at hand, and military orders are like mountains. No one knows when the Hongnong soldiers and horses, who are so close to each other, will break the alliance and directly send troops to invade Hedong. Yan Xing's military orders have been issued, the allocation of soldiers, the transportation of food and supplies, the inspection of military equipment, and the recruitment of civil servants in various cities, and these series of things have also come one after another.
Chapter completed!