Qingyang County was waiting for the emperor to send reinforcements, but Zhu Houzhao was waiting for the good news to come.

It’s not that Zhu Houzhao doesn’t want to send reinforcements, but that he feels that his life is much more important than the lives of others.

Even if the Qingyang County was defeated, in his opinion, the situation of the war was deteriorating, but his life must not be in the slightest surprise.

Under such a mentality, the military and civilians of Qingyang County could only expect King Ning to withdraw their troops.

However, Zhu Houzhao's failure to send reinforcements does not mean that he does not care about the progress of the war, but no matter how he asks, the result is the same... The battle situation is in a stalemate and cannot decide the outcome for the time being.

The news was blocked by the Ning Wang's troops, and the information on Qingyang County was rarely transmitted. Even if there were, it was just a few words. The officers and soldiers of nearby prefectures were unable to find out the information. Jiang Bin had always reported good news but not bad news, which made Zhu Houzhao think that the situation in Qingyang County was very good and was almost at the point of winning.

Just as the war in Qingyang County lasted until the ninth day, Zhu Houzhao finally received Xu Qiu's urgent request for help.

This memorial was not sent to Zhu Houzhao by Zhang Yuan or Jiang Bin, but was obtained from extraordinary channels and submitted to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was shocked when she saw it and immediately called Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan to question him.

Only then did Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan realize that one day ago, when the attack and defense of Qingyang County was on the eighth day, the western wall of the county was bombed by scattered aircraft and Franc guns, and collapsed. Ning Wang's troops rushed into the city like a tide, and the war officially entered a state of street fighting.

"Your Majesty... This... I said yesterday that everything is normal, why is it suddenly..."

Jiang Bin wanted to make excuses for himself, but when he saw Zhu Houzhao's face, he felt that if he had any false words, it was not only as simple as being scolded by Zhu Houzhao, but he might even lose his life.

Zhu Houzhao glared at Zhang Yuan and said, "Eunuch Zhang, the situation is so critical, why don't you report it?"

Zhang Yuan was the chief supervisor of the seal. In Zhu Houzhao's opinion, Zhang Yuan should tell himself immediately what happened in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao did not criticize Jiang Bin too much, but instead spread his anger to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Go back to Your Majesty, there has been no information coming from Qingyang County for four or five days... As for the loss of the county wall and the war has entered the street fighting stage, the old slave knows nothing."

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Aren't you the eunuch in charge of the seal of the Sili Supervisor? Why don't you know?"

Zhang Yuan explained stubbornly: "Your Majesty, it's not that the old slave does not try to obtain information, but that the surrounding areas of Qingyang County have been blocked, Chizhou Prefecture has lost contact, and the normal reporting channels have failed."

"Now in a state of war, sending scouts is what the army should do. If the military has no information coming, the old slave can do nothing! Before, my husband's intelligence was informed by Commander Jiang, and he should be the one who knows the best!"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned. He initially thought that Zhang Yuan was quibbling, but after careful consideration, he found that during the war, a Sili Superintendent who was trapped in the city like him, knew exactly what he knew without obtaining external information, and could only be learned through the military.

When Jiang Bin saw Zhu Houzhao's face changed, he quickly argued for himself: "Eunuch Zhang, don't swear at others... I haven't mentioned the situation about Qingyang County."

When Zhang Yuan heard this, he quickly said, "General Jiang did not tell Lao Nu about the situation in Qingyang County... When many county towns in Chizhou Prefecture fell and local governments lost their functions, what other channels did Lao Nu have in addition to getting news from General Jiang?"

"Why don't you have any other channels? What does the Jinyiwei do in Dongchang? You don't send anyone to investigate?" Jiang Bin tried his best to defend himself, but found that this explanation was powerless.

The soldiers and horses in the city were controlled by him, and even the information from the emperor had to pass through him. Xu Qi had reported several times before and was "intercepted" by Zhang Yuan, which made Jiang Bin very angry. This time, Xu Qi's request for help failed to pass Zhang Yuan's head, which is also an important reason why Jiang Bin was neglected to be prepared.

Zhu Houzhao glared at Jiang Bin and asked, "Jiang Qing's family, I asked you to send a large number of scouts to investigate the information in Qingyang County. Haven't you sent anyone?"

Jiang Bin lowered his head: "Your Majesty, people have been sent, but they all returned without success. The other side of the river was blocked by the scouts sent by the King of Diss. Our people basically went but never returned."

Zhu Houzhao said: "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jiang Bin was speechless and became more and more confused about how to answer.

Obviously, Jiang Bin is not as experienced as Zhang Yuan in dealing with the emperor. He was confused at this time: "No wonder the eunuch named Zhang has not opposed me these two days, and he even has a little humble meaning. It turns out that he is waiting for this... He should have experienced this before, and has long had experience, so he set up a trap for me to get in."

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Now the west wall of Qingyang County has collapsed. This bad situation is still what the city officers and soldiers had to face yesterday. That is to say, the situation may have deteriorated after one day. Maybe all the soldiers of the court have been destroyed..."

Jiang Bin said: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Duke of Wei was born in a martial arts family and was familiar with military tactics. The situation may not be as bad as we thought."

Zhu Houzhao was furious: "Your stinky fart... The city walls have collapsed, and the soldiers of the King of Rebels can drive in without any obstacles. In this case, you still want to stick to the city. Are you Mr. Shen, who is the Duke of Wei? Oh, by the way, Mr. Shen... I should have asked Mr. Shen to lead the troops long ago. Look at you useless things. What else can you do except eat and wait for death? Come on, hurry up and send an order to Mr. Shen to send troops!"

Seeing that the situation was out of control, Zhu Houzhao was frightened. The best person who could think of in his mind to save the current crisis was naturally the invincible Shen Xi.

Boss Jiang Bin reluctantly said, "Your Majesty, there is an incident in Qingyang County at this time. It is most appropriate to send troops from Anqing Prefecture to rescue him... If Lord Shen sends troops, will it be beyond the reach?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "It is no longer a question of whether Qingyang County is lost, but a question of whether my country can be preserved... I shouldn't have stayed in Anqing Prefecture before, and returned to Beijing decisively. There is no problem with handing over this mess to Mr. Shen... No matter how fierce the King of Rebel is, it is not worth mentioning in front of Mr. Shen."

Zhang Yuan and Jiang Bin looked at each other and thought to themselves: "Since you have long determined that this is the case, what have you done before? You have to remember that there is Shen Zhihou until you are in a hurry?"

Zhang Yuan quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Wei is asking for help. At this time, troops should be sent to reinforce, and we should not let it go."

Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and looked at Jiang Bin: "What do you think of Jiang Qing's family?"

Jiang Bin said: "Your Majesty, it is better to lead General Xu Tai to the expedition, tomorrow morning..."

"Bad!"

Zhu Houzhao pointed at Jiang Bin's nose and cursed, "Can Xu Tai take the opportunity to solve the problem? At such a critical moment, do you want Jiang Bin to be a turtle? And is it the time to send troops tomorrow? I want you to lead the troops... I will allocate 10,000 troops to cross the river within half an hour and rush to help Qingyang County... If the mission cannot be completed, come and see you."

"His Majesty……"

When Jiang Bin heard this, he was so sad that he was going to die.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "No matter how much talkative you are, I will only allocate five thousand soldiers to you... Before I change my mind, I will bring 10,000 people to the battle. I will not be able to return to the army without resolving the siege of Qingyang County. I will not be able to stop in the middle of the journey. If I know that you retreat in the last battle, it will also be a crime of beheading."

...

...

Jiang Bin had no choice but to bring 10,000 troops across the river, and everything was done in a hurry.

With Jiang Bin withdrawing his troops last time, Ning Wang's troops built a camp on the other side of the river.

Jiang Bin did not understand the enemy situation and did not dare to land directly opposite Anqing Mansion City, so he chose to go upstream and half an hour later, he found an open area upstream with no one to dock the fleet.

The Ning Wang's troops did not cause any obstacles to Jiang Bin's troops crossing the river. Jiang Bin was complacent when he suddenly came to report that the Ning Wang's troops suddenly set off and retreated in an orderly manner towards Niutou Mountain.

After Xu Tai learned the news, he hurried to report to Jiang Bin.

At this time, Jiang Bin had just stepped on the land on the south bank. Xu Tai rushed over in two steps and said excitedly: "Master Jiang, great good news... The Ning Wang Sect's troops here have retreated. It seems that he is afraid of Lord Jiang's power and fled after hearing the wind..."

Jiang Bin frowned: "What good news is this? Ning Wang's troops were mostly heading towards Qingyang County... In this way, the Duke of Wei was under greater pressure, and we did not encounter any obstacles across the river, so we could only lead our troops east... Instead of entering an unfamiliar place to fight, it would be better to fight a battle nearby, and at least we would have an explanation to Your Majesty."

Xu Tai was stunned. After careful consideration, he felt that Jiang Bin was right and his face was not so good-looking.

Xu Tai said: "Sir Jiang, what should we do now? It is approaching dusk, why don't you stay on the bank of the river and chase it tomorrow?"

Jiang Bin said disdainfully: "Can you just talk a little? You can stay in the middle of the river and rest. What will your Majesty think when you know it? Even if you want to set up a camp, you will walk forward for dozens of miles first. You cannot rest before night fall... The three armies will be ordered to rush to the road immediately after the rectification is completed, and target Qingyang County!"

"well!"

Xu Tai sighed heavily and could only pass the order according to Jiang Bin's instructions.

...

...

Jiang Bin led his troops forward in a state of anxiety.

The road from Huangshiji on the other side of Anqing Prefecture City to the east is not easy to walk, and Jiang Bin doesn't want to be so anxious to "send his death", so he will only move after the scout is sure that there are no Ning Wang's troops ahead. The consequence is to take a break... In his opinion, the ten thousand people under his command may not even be able to stop the attack of the main force of Ning Wang. I heard that there are elite soldiers of hundreds of battles trained by Shen Xi in the other side, and it is very difficult to stabilize the position.

As night fell, Jiang Bin led his troops to walk twenty miles eastward. At this time, the soldiers were already trapped and there were complaints from the army.

It is very dangerous to march at night. If you can't see the environment clearly, it is easy to explode the camp when you suddenly encounter an enemy. In addition, Jiang Bin knew that he would temporarily leave the emperor's vision, so he ordered to station.

Because it was a camping camp in the wild, Jiang Bin had no experience. After more than half an hour of busyness, the camp took shape. The soldiers were not in the energy to make food. They were tired and hungry. In addition, the weather was cold, so they were reluctant to come out after getting into the tent. Although the camp was arranged for a special patrol, the defense was not tight. If you encounter a veteran like Chen Xi, it is very likely that a surprise attack would run through the camp and you wouldn't even know how to die.

"Mr. Jiang, Your Majesty has allocated ten thousand troops to us, which is not enough to lift the siege of Qingyang County..." At this time, Xu Tai was no longer here to announce the good news to Jiang Bin, and his face was more like a death.

Jiang Bin said angrily: "Isn't it because Your Majesty has sent 3,000 cavalry to harass the enemy behind? How many people are there in Anqing Prefecture? With the priority of ensuring Your Majesty's safety, how many people do you think you can send to Qingyang County to help?"

Xu Tai said: "Why should we take one step at a time? Once we find out that Qingyang County has fallen, we should withdraw our troops quickly and tell His Majesty that we are one step late?"

Jiang Bin said angrily: "Your Majesty has something to say first, and you cannot save the Duke of Wei. Ting to see you! Will it be General Tiben's head or yours?"

Xu Tai said with a sad face: "If you really can't rescue it, your Majesty wouldn't be so harsh, right? How can such a thing be forced to make people difficult?"

Jiang Bin said: "If Qingyang County is now lost, I can explain it to Your Majesty... I am afraid that Qingyang County is still standing still. When you look back, Your Majesty knows that we will wait for the Duke of Wei to be wiped out and will not be able to move forward. If you don't kill your head, who will kill?"

"this……"

Xu Tai was going to make some suggestions, but Jiang Bin blocked the topic and didn't know what to say next.

Jiang Bin seemed to be praying and said to himself: "I can only pray that Qingyang County will fall quickly and Duke Wei will die sooner; or that King Ning's troops will take the initiative to withdraw... Otherwise, we can only fight to the death!"

...

...

Jiang Bin had no confidence in leading troops to fight against the main force of Ning Wang.

The stationed until dawn, all the soldiers hurriedly had breakfast and started again. On the way, Jiang Bin got news that King Ning was retreating.

Jiang Bin quickly called the scout to his side and asked in detail, but did not get the exact answer.

Xu Tai quickly came over to inquire about the situation, and when he learned that it was just a "rumor", he was very disappointed.

"...That's what I mean, King Ning is likely to withdraw his troops, so we may not be going to die." Xu Tai looked at Jiang Bin eagerly.

Jiang Bin frowned and said, "King Ning used his troops to be deceitful. Perhaps he had planned to siege the city from the beginning. It may not be a good thing for us to not lose Qingyang County. At that time, King Ning will definitely lead his troops to block us. King Ning's ultimate goal is definitely not a small Qingyang County, but Anqing Prefecture."

Xu Tai took a breath: "Don't we say that we have no other choice than to die?"

Jiang Bin said: "Now we need to send people to inquire about the movements of King Ning's main force. If it is really for us, we must prepare in advance and find a dangerous place to set up defenses, just wait for King Ning's troops to attack."

...

...

Jiang Bin was in a very nervous mood.

Fortunately, more and more news came later, which made Jiang Bin almost certain that King Ning had really withdrawn his troops.

Xu Tai has also learned to be smart now, just listening to it and asking without rushing to ask.
To be continued...