Zhenjun City was destroyed, which completely broke Ningzhou's defense line, and Cook Shu's army could march straight in.

Fortunately, Fan Wenzhong, Xie Cang and others tried their best to stop them and retreated to the Acropolis. However, Ku Shu's 120,000 troops also suffered a lot, with only about 70,000 to 80,000 left.

In less than half a day after Zhenjun City was conquered, the nine nearby cities received news that only five thousand elites were left in the city, and the rest were all sniping at Kuk Shu's army.

After all, the central military city was breached, and the defenses of the other nine cities were of no avail, no matter how good they were.

Fan Wenzhong clearly had the guts to do so. He completely gave up his passive defense and gave the Nine City Lieutenant General a death order.

No matter what, use all your strength to snipe Cook's army at all costs.

This head-on approach will cause the greatest casualties, but there is nothing we can do about it.

As long as they can stop Kushu's offensive edge and buy time, Kyoto has also been convinced and has quickly ordered to assemble the surrounding states and gather troops to rush to the front line within five days.

A day or two after the city was broken, Ku Shu's army was frantically blocked by soldiers from the Nine Cities.

For a time, the casualties were huge, and Ku Shu wanted to march straight in. However, he did not have enough manpower, so he could only fight with the Jiucheng reinforcements on one side, and urgently recruited Liu Shengming's 30,000 troops to return to the army.

Furthermore, he notified Qingzhou and Youzhou in the rear to assemble troops and recruit a large number of civilians to prepare to support the front line.

At the moment, it seems that this situation is very urgent, and both sides are spending time waiting for reinforcements from the rear.

Whichever side arrives with reinforcements will have the absolute right to reverse the entire war.

Su Qi'an, who was sitting in the city lord's mansion, his eyes flashed. Suddenly, he raised his head and said to Tong Zhan.

"If we want to rescue Mr. Fan, Brother Xie and the others, it seems we are going to take a risk."

…

Liu Shengming's 30,000-strong army stationed at the rear border had a day-long mission to search for the whereabouts of Su Qi'an and other cold soldiers.

It can be seen that under Liu Shengming's orders, almost every inch of land on the rear border was turned to pieces, and no trace of Su Qi'an was found.

Su Qi'an and more than a thousand people disappeared completely, just like evaporating from the world.

This result made Liu Shengming's face hurt from the beating. He finally had the right to command the army, and he was convinced in front of Cook.

But the final result made Liu Shengming very embarrassed. Although his subordinates had no doubts about Liu Shengming's orders, as time went on, more and more officers were dissatisfied with him.

In addition to the tight fighting situation on the front line, Ku Shu had issued an emergency order to him a day ago, telling him to assemble the troops as soon as possible, give up searching for Su Qi'an's traces, and return to the team immediately.

Tomorrow is the deadline to return to the team, but now he has gained nothing. Liu Shengming is very unwilling.

If he went back like this, he knew that from now on, his image of being as wise as a demon would be greatly reduced.

But if he refused to execute the plan, he would not be attacked with the Cook technique. Several of his honorable officers had to behead him.

Just when Liu Shengming was frowning and worried, suddenly, a guard broke in outside the big tent.

Liu Shengming was quite dissatisfied with the guard's unreasonable behavior, and just when he was about to vent his anger on the guard.

The guard quickly said, "Good news, Mr. Liu, we discovered the whereabouts of Su Qi'an and the others."

Liu Shengming, who was originally full of displeasure, immediately became a little excited. He grabbed the guard's collar and asked quickly.

"Tell me quickly! Where are they!"

"They are currently in an acropolis in Qingzhou, which seems to be called Taning City."

This sentence made Liu Shengming raise his eyebrows and turn his eyes, as if he realized something. He quickly calmed down the excitement on his face and returned to his original calm.

Liu Shengming looked at the guards, was silent for a while, and then asked, "How did you confirm that this news is true? Or who disclosed it to you."

The guard quickly explained, "This news was revealed by the Lord of Taning City. It is precisely because we are not sure that we want you to analyze it."

Liu Shengming's questioning look softened, and he nodded slightly and said, "What were the original words of this city lord."

"His original words probably meant that the previous city lord of Taning City was killed in battle, and the position of city lord was created among several captains in his city. During the competition, some very powerful civilians emerged under the other captain's subordinates.

"

"He defeated everyone and incited the slaves to rebel, which eventually led to the death of the other captain. However, he was valued because he knew the current affairs and was retained, and was finally supported as the city lord."

"Now the whole city is controlled by slaves and that commoner. It was only by luck that he spread the news. He only hopes that Liu Shengming can send a large army to support and save his life."

Listening to the guard's introduction, Liu Shengming nodded slightly, and the solemnity on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a faint smile.

The guard was a little confused and said, "Sir, the news delivered by this city lord did not say that it was Su Qi'an who incited the slaves to rebel. Moreover, if Taning City was really controlled by Su Qi'an, other cities would not have received the news long ago. Wouldn't this be possible?

Could it be a trap?"

The guard's question did not make Liu Shengming unhappy. On the contrary, he nodded with some relief.

This guard is better at using his brain than other soldiers. At least he dares to express his confusion.

Liu Shengming was in a good mood now and had time to explain the guard's confusion.

"Your guess is not unreasonable, but it is most likely true. It can incite slaves to rebel and take this opportunity to leave Yirong as a puppet. This kind of thing is in line with Su Qian's approach."

"As for why there was no news from the surrounding cities, the reason is simple. With Su Qian's thoughts, since he left the puppet behind, whatever the puppet city lord does will definitely be done according to his instructions."

"Go and check this Taning City. On the second day after this puppet city lord took over, did he issue a similar wanted order or a comfort order?"

The guard nodded and left quickly. After a while, he came back with several military reports in his hand. He handed them over with both hands and said with an expression of admiration.

"As expected of you sir, there happened to be an external notification from Taning City a few days ago. On the second day after he took office, the puppet city lord reported the news of the defection of a captain, and attached a transfer order within Taning City.

"

Liu Shengming nodded, and his inner guess became more confident. He did not read the military report, but looked into the distance. After another brief silence, Liu Shengming said.

"Based on my understanding of Su Qi'an, he kept this puppet to stabilize people's hearts to the outside world, and he can take advantage of this time to quickly increase his strength."

"I'm lurking silently, and when the time comes, I will definitely launch a raid like the one in Taning City on other acropolis. This Su Qi'an has a big plan. He wants to gain a piece of territory in Qingzhou."

The guard's face was full of shock. He really couldn't imagine this. For such a cold man, was he a little too courageous?

Not only did they go deep into the hinterland, but they even tried to conquer a piece of land in Da Rong. This was somewhat fanciful.

But then I thought about it, it's not like there was no precedent for this matter a hundred years ago. General Yue of Liang Dynasty had done this thing, if it weren't for the emergency order of the Emperor of Liang Dynasty at that time.

Maybe Qingzhou was really defeated by him. Even if it has been a hundred years, they, the descendants of the retired soldiers, all know more or less about it.

If Su Qi'an really did this, it would be unimaginable from the perspective of a guard like how disastrous the consequences would be for Da Rong.

Seeing the guard's shock, Liu Shengming seemed much calmer. He patted the guard's shoulder and said nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, Su Qi'an won't be able to do this."

"Haha, let me tell you something. I really want to thank this puppet city lord for the news. No wonder there is no trace of Su Qi'an in the rear. It turns out that he really boldly entered Qingzhou."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, but think about it, only Su Qian has the courage to do this, and our army's search for more than ten days will not be in vain. This is interesting."

"Sir, do you think we should give an order to notify other Acropolises and immediately unite to wipe out Tanin City in one fell swoop?"

Regarding the guard's suggestion, Liu Shengming shook his head.

"No, everything will go according to the original plan. Since Su Qian wants to play, then I will play with him."

"To deal with such a person, we must not only deal with him, but more importantly, defeat him with all our heart and soul from the inside out. This is the duel between counselors."

The guard obviously could not understand the thoughts of a counselor like Liu Shengming, but he could feel Liu Shengming's excitement.

The excitement was like finding a lifelong opponent, the excitement of fighting was like warriors like them going to the battlefield and fighting with real swords and guns.

"Perhaps this is the so-called battle between counselors." The guard sighed secretly.

After a while, Liu Shengming's voice rang in his ears, "Give me the order. The whole army will still search as usual, according to the original plan, but gather an elite team. The number will not be large, just a hundred people. In most cases

Under the cover of the police, we broke into the outskirts of Taning City and carried out activities."

"I will personally lead this team."

Liu Shengming's words shocked the guards, but when they came back to their senses, they flattered Liu Shengming for a while.

"Sir, this trick is very clever. On the surface, it uses a large force to paralyze Su Qi'an. In fact, it is a small elite team that gathers and takes the opportunity to deliberately move around the outskirts of Taning City. When the time comes, he will find any excuse to enter the city. Even Su Qi'an will have to open the city. By then...

Sir, the plan is really flawless and awesome, I admire you so much.”

In response to the guard's praise, Liu Shengming waved his hand casually. Soon, the guard retreated and began to follow Liu Shengming's instructions.

Liu Shengming, who was in the big tent, had eyes flashing with absolute confidence.
Chapter completed!