"How is Master Zhou Mu?"

"My lords, Mr. Zhou Mu's condition has worsened and he may not die soon."

"Prime Minister Langya is besieging Langya City. At this time of survival, if Mr. Zhou Mu falls unconscious again, Xuzhou will change hands!"

A group of officials from aristocratic families in Xuzhou were even more worried when they learned that Tao Qian's condition was getting worse day by day.

Chen Deng, the captain of Diannong School, stopped the chaos: "Everyone, please listen to me. The old man of Yuanlong's family has come to Xiapi to discuss important matters with all my colleagues."

In Tancheng, the defender Le Yi stood on the city wall, observing the Langya army that was besieging the city but not attacking.

He even hoped that Chutian would attack Tancheng for several days and then hit his head with blood.

Those who are good at attacking cities are also good at defending them.

Chu Tian calmed down, surrounded the area for reinforcements, and then sent Xue Rengui's troops to pacify the counties of Donghai Kingdom, turning Tancheng into an isolated city, but leaving Le Yi passive.

Le Yi stood firm in the isolated city and could only wait and see how Yang Ye came to the rescue.

Chu Tian's tactics are also very simple, they are just plotting, surrounding the point to bring reinforcements, and Yang Ye has to save him.

The lords of Xuzhou and Yang Ye led the 70,000-reinvigorated Xuzhou coalition to approach Tancheng and confront the Langya army.

Now there is a large army of Langya Kingdom near Tancheng. Yang Ye has 70,000 reinforcements and Tancheng has 30,000 defenders.

Chu Tian did not fight with Yang Ye in the wild this time, but patiently waited for the opportunity.

Yang Ye repeatedly sent people to provoke, but the Langya army remained unmoved.

The lords of Xuzhou didn't know why Chu Zimou suddenly acted like a tortoise, and some lords sent people to send women's clothes to the Langya Kingdom's military camp to provoke Chu Tian to fight, imitating Zhuge Liang's humiliation of Sima Yi.

However, Chu Zimou remained unmoved and continued to avoid fighting.

The lords of Xuzhou gradually lost their composure.

Chu Zimou was uncharacteristically avoiding fighting, which made them uneasy. They always felt that Chu Zimou was brewing something.

"What on earth was he thinking?"

Yang Ye led his light cavalry to provoke in front of the Langya army, trying to spy on the movements of the Langya army.

However, he was disappointed. The Langya Kingdom army had been standing firm without any intention of attacking.

"What is Chu Zimou thinking?"

Le Yi could already see Yang Ye's reinforcement flag on the city wall.

According to Le Yi's idea, the Langya Kingdom army is waiting for Yang Ye's reinforcements to arrive. Once Yang Ye's reinforcements arrive, they will fight head-on, defeat Yang Ye's reinforcements, and then attack Tancheng while the morale is low due to the defeat of the reinforcements.

city.

His inference is reasonable and the way a normal person would think.

But after the Battle of Xuzhou, Chu Zimou changed from a lion with teeth and claws to a tortoise. Not only did he besiege Tancheng but refused to attack, even if reinforcements arrived, he had no desire to attack.

The two sides have been facing each other, and food and troops from the rear have continuously arrived at the front, changing the balance of forces between the two sides.

"Chu Zimou is still silent. He thinks that the supply capacity of his one and a half counties can exceed the supply capacity of our three and a half counties?"

"The longer it takes, the better it is for us. He will regret the tactics he chose."

After the initial uneasiness, the lords of Xuzhou gradually calmed down. They had three and a half commanderies, while Chu Zimou only had one and a half commanderies (Langya Kingdom and half of Donghai Kingdom). The supply capabilities of the two sides were quite different. For them, a protracted war was difficult.

,favorable.

"They must think that I want to have a long-term confrontation with them, but I am just waiting... for Tao Qian to pass away..."

Chu Tian observed the military formation on the opposite side.

His goal is simple, to delay Tao Qian's death.

Information about Xiapi City continued to reach Chu Tian. Tao Qian's health was deteriorating and he was expected to die soon.

Finally, a cavalryman came to the Tancheng battlefield at full speed and shouted: "Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian died of illness!"

For a moment, the three armies were shocked!

Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian was defeated in the Battle of Xuzhou. He was so frightened and old and frail that he died of a serious illness!

Chutian relied on his young capital to defeat the first prince!

Xuzhou with Tao Qian and without Tao Qian are completely different Xuzhou. Now Xuzhou is leaderless!

"Immediately notify the envoys in Chang'an to report to the imperial court and request the title of Xuzhou Mu and General Anton!"

Chutian has been waiting for the news of Tao Qian's death recently and has long sent envoys to Chang'an.

There can only be one Xuzhou Mu, and he must get ahead of everyone and become the next Xuzhou Mu, and at the same time, add General Anton!

Although somewhat unkind, Xuzhou is a place where virtuous people live.

It was Tao Qian's good luck that he did not capture and kill Tao Qian alive.

Fang Xuanling bowed to Chu Tian: "Congratulations, my lord, you are about to take over Xuzhou and move to Xuzhou as pastor, General Anton."

"If Dong Zhuo is sensible, he would agree. Let the whole army be prepared to destroy Yang Ye's army! We still have to wait patiently for news..."

Chu Tian suppressed Zao Re, and he could not wait to become Xuzhou Mu, a real frontier official. After becoming Xuzhou Mu, he would completely pacify the troubled land of Xuzhou. The Xuzhou Alliance that resisted him would not exist, because then everyone would

The lord of Xuzhou will be destroyed by him.

In Tancheng, a stranger among the defenders received the news from Xiapi City, and panic immediately spread throughout the city - Xuzhou Mu Taoqian died of illness!

"No...no, Tao Qian died a few years early!"

"The person who organized the coalition died of illness. Whose order should we follow?"

"It's over this time. We are defending an isolated city. Once Tao Qian dies, the winning rate will become even slimmer."

The defender's face turned pale.

This time God played a joke on them.

They thought it was not long before Tao Qian died, but this time Tao Qian died of illness early due to anxiety and fear, disrupting the deployment of the coalition forces.

Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian is the core of the Xuzhou coalition. Once he is killed in battle, Xuzhou's aristocratic families are ready to take action.

"No one should panic and still act according to the plan!"

Le Yi tried to control this group of strangers who were somewhat out of control.

Tancheng fell into civil strife because of Tao Qian's death.

Yang Ye's 70,000-strong army soon learned of the death of Xuzhou Mu Taoqian. There was a turmoil, and Yang Ye was almost unable to control the situation.

"As soon as Tao Qian dies, Xiapi becomes unstable. We should temporarily give up the confrontation with the Langya army, return to Xiapi City immediately, and take control of Xiapi City."

"Xiapi City has accumulated the food and grass needed by the army. If something happens to Xiapi City, we will be very passive!"

After hasty discussions, the lords of Xuzhou decided to temporarily withdraw their troops.

They planned to save Pi first and then rescue Tancheng.

Yang Ye learned that Xiapi would be in turmoil after Tao Qian's death, and agreed with the Xuzhou lords' decision to return to Xiapi. He personally led 10,000 cavalry to the rear.

Yang Ye retreated in an orderly manner, obviously unwilling to give the Langya army any chance to pursue.

"Yang Ye's 70,000-strong army has retreated. Hua Mulan's Iron Eagle scouts immediately went to investigate to prevent Yang Ye from deliberately retreating and leading us into an ambush. Except for Zhou Yafu who continued to besiege the city, the rest of the army followed suit."

Chu Tian decided to follow Yang Ye and defeat the 70,000-strong army!

Yang Ye's 70,000-strong army was not an elite force, but the remnant soldiers left after the Battle of Xuzhou, and their combat effectiveness was not very high.

"Chu Zimou has sent troops!!"

"Damn it, he must have known about Xiapi Tao Qian's death, so he didn't give us a chance to retreat!"

"Don't worry, Yang Ye will block their pursuit. As long as we have Yang Ye as our rearguard, Chu Zimou won't be able to catch up with us so easily."

The lords of Xuzhou were extremely anxious, but they did not dare to march quickly, otherwise their formation would be in chaos, and the Langya army would pursue them with all their strength, and the situation would be over.

"Yang Wudi is indeed a troublesome opponent."

Chu Tian sent Xue Rengui to attack the city, accompanied by the cavalry generals Zhao Yun, Hua Mulan, and Hua Xiong.

Most of the generals of Langya Kingdom followed Yang Ye, waiting for the opportunity.

The one-eyed Zang Ba was left with a ferocious spirit and hated his enemies to the core.

"My lord, Chen Gui, Chen Deng and their sons, together with the Xiapi family, successfully captured Xiapi City and responded to our army! All the defenders of Xiapi City surrendered and are now owned by the lord!"

After Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian died of illness, the second important news came.

Chen Gui, Chen Deng and his son saw that the situation was not good. After Tao Qian died, they immediately sent people to control the garrison of Xiapi City and seize military power.

"The Chen family and his son really did not disappoint me. From now on, they can be regarded as the governors of a party. The whole army immediately attacked! It makes people scream, Xiapi has been lost!"

Chutian learned that Chen Gui and Chen Deng had occupied Xiapi City, and knew that the time for decisive victory had come!

At the same time that Chutian received the news, the 70,000 Xuzhou coalition troops who were carefully retreating also learned that Xiapi City had been lost!

After the death of Tao Qian, the original Mu of Xuzhou, the family decided to abandon the coalition and defect to the Langya Kingdom, considering that the future of the coalition was uncertain and there was a lack of large lords capable of ruling a state.

The situation of Yang Ye's 70,000-strong army was not good because of the fall of Xiapi City. They were sandwiched between Tan City and Xiapi City, and if they were not careful, the whole army would be annihilated!
To be continued...