Ge Shun naturally knew that the two had always been at odds, and said with a wry smile, "Besides Tong Rong, who else in the city can lead troops? The governor probably doesn't trust Tong Yan to come. However, judging from Tong Rong's military strength, the governor has asked him to bring the vast majority of the city's troops to relieve the commander-in-chief's siege."
His words reminded Tong Chang, whose face turned deathly pale in an instant. He roared, "All troops, charge! Tong Chang, you are a sinner!"
With him leading the charge, the Tong family soldiers on the mountain launched a frenzied attack. The Peace Army only used the fortifications as cover to resist, seemingly without any intention of blocking them. Tong Chang's troops encountered almost no effective resistance and rushed down the mountain to join Tong Rong's army.
Amid the cheers of the soldiers, Tong Rong triumphantly ordered the Peace Army to be completely surrounded. Now the roles on the battlefield had reversed; the Peace Army had become the besieged, while the Tong family soldiers had become the attackers.
But Tong Rong's order was interrupted by Tong Chang's angry roar: "How many men did you bring? How many men are left in the city?"
Tong Rong was deeply dissatisfied that Tong Chang had not thanked him, and said with a stern face, "To save you, I brought seven thousand elite soldiers from the city, leaving less than three thousand soldiers in the city."
He was startled by his own words and suddenly realized why Tong Chang was so furious.
"Less than three thousand? Less than three thousand!" Tong Chang reached out and pulled a cavalryman off his horse, then mounted his own and roared, "Li Jun has at most five thousand men here, there are still three thousand left, there are still three thousand left!"
Tong Rong also understood that in this battle, Li Jun first feigned an attack on Yinhu City to lure Tong Chang back to rescue it, and then surrounded Tong Chang, making the Tong family think that his target was focused on Tong Chang. When Yinhu City came to its aid in full force, his ultimate target was revealed. It turned out that it was still Yinhu City. At this time, Yinhu City was a tiger that had lost its teeth and claws and could only wait for the Peace Army to slaughter it.
The art of war, where illusion can be made real and real can be made to appear illusory, is what Li Jun learned from Lu Xiang. But for the Tong family soldiers, only one thing was on their minds at that moment: they hoped it was all just Tong Chang's overthinking. Otherwise, with their wives, children, and elderly relatives all in Yinhu City, and Governor Tong Sheng also in Yinhu City, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Tong Yan, you cover the rear! Even if you die in battle, you must stop Li Jun's pursuit! Tong Rong, you lead the central army, and I will lead the vanguard. Return to Yinhu City immediately!" Even in this crisis, Tong Chang still managed to arrange his own strategy, which was indeed far superior to the helpless Tong Rong.
As soon as the Tong family soldiers moved, Li Jun, who was watching from inside the fortified camp, waved his hand and said, "We must not pursue them. Tong Chang's troops are well-organized and he will surely send brave generals to cover the rear. If we pursue them now, our army will suffer setbacks. Let him go for now."
After the Tong family soldiers had all withdrawn, Li Jun ordered the Heping Army to follow and pursue them, but not too closely. They followed the Tong family army from a distance, preventing them from returning with full force.
Tong Sheng first roared, "I understand," then slumped into his seat, letting the messenger bring the ominous news.
"Your Excellency Governor, the North Gate... the North Gate has fallen!"
"I understand..." Tong Sheng murmured, then stood up again, drew his sword from his waist, and said, "Pass down my order, instructing all the guards at the gates to immediately assemble at the south gate. I want to engage the bandits in street fighting. The people of Silver Tiger City will surely be on our side!"
But then, shouts of battle erupted outside his palace. Clearly, the enemy had followed the messenger and encountered little resistance along the way. Tong Sheng drew his sword, ready to leave, but the messenger blocked his way.
"Governor, let's go through the back gate!" he cried out anxiously. "The enemy troops are too numerous for our army to resist. Your Excellency should leave the city quickly and we can retake Silver Tiger City later."
Tong Sheng forcefully shook off his hand and said, "Go to Tiger's Mouth Gorge immediately and inform Achang that I will pass the governorship to him."
The soldier called out, "Where is the sir?"
“As for me,” Tong Sheng said with a resolute expression, “as long as I am here, Silver Tiger City will remain in the hands of the Tong family!”
Knowing his mind was made up, the soldier knelt down and kowtowed twice before running out the back door. Once again, only Tong Sheng remained in the dark hall.
“That kid…” Tong Sheng had completely understood Li Jun’s scheme. It was a scheme within a scheme, a series of interconnected plans that caused him to make wrong judgments time and time again, leading him into an irrecoverable defeat. The appearance of such a strategist in Yuzhou might be a sign that a new era would begin in Yuzhou.
"I won't sit here and let you make a name for yourself!" Tong Sheng roared at his absent opponent and stormed out of the palace gate.
Xiao Lin disguised himself as a civilian and first seized the North Gate. Then, under cover of night, Song Yun, who had circled around to the North Gate, led a thousand mercenaries and two thousand Peace Army soldiers to attack. The North Gate was guarded by only two hundred soldiers, who, believing that the Peace Army had already left, had become somewhat complacent, giving them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. In just a short while, they had taken control of the North Gate.
At this moment, Lu Xian and Wang Erlei led the homeless children of the Orphanage to shout throughout the city: "The front has been defeated! The Tong family is finished! The Peace Army is storming into the city!" The shouts of these homeless children echoed throughout the streets and alleys. The people, already suspicious from the shouts, were even more convinced when they saw the Peace Army soldiers entering the city that the front had indeed been defeated and the Tong family was finished. Except for a very few, like Shang Si, who had received favors from the Tong family and wanted to do something for them, the rest of the people kept their doors tightly shut and hid, daring not to come out to stop the soldiers. Therefore, the Peace Army easily stormed the palace.
Song Yun ran extremely fast, reaching the palace first. A guard wielding a halberd lunged at him, but Song Yun dodged, the halberd passing under the guard's arm. The guard tried to pull back, but Song Yun caught the halberd. Unable to dodge Song Yun's greatsword any longer, the guard was cleaved in two from head to toe. The remaining guards, fearing his bravery, scattered as he charged, but Song Yun still managed to catch up with several of them, killing them one by one with his sword.
Tong Sheng happened to be coming out the door and immediately recognized him as the brave general who had fought Tong Yan that day. He swung his sword at Song Yun, but Song Yun could tell from his clothes that he was a man of considerable status. He kicked the sword away and then kicked him to the ground. If it were twenty years ago when Tong Sheng was young, he might have been able to fight Song Yun for a few rounds, but in recent years, he had lived a life of luxury and his movements were no longer as agile as before.
"Go to hell!" Song Yun had always been dissatisfied with those of high status, and among the generals of the Peace Army, he was probably the most bloodthirsty. Without thinking twice, he stomped down hard, and his spiritual power pressed down like a huge boulder, crushing Tong Sheng's ribs. Then, with a swing of his greatsword, Tong Sheng's head fell into his hands.
"Governor... Your Excellency Governor..." The guard's exclamation made Song Yun realize who he had killed. At this moment, Xiao Lin rushed over and shouted, "Capture Tong Sheng alive! Capture Tong Sheng alive!"
Song Yun scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Well... it seems it's already too late..."
Chapter Six: Resisting the Rong People in the North
Section 1
The morning scenery of Silver Tiger City is indeed breathtaking. The eastern sunrise veils the city walls with a layer of silvery-gray gauze. Accompanied by the rising smoke from the chimneys, the military flags on the high-rise buildings in the city flutter gently in the breeze. The surrounding hills rise and fall in an endless range, and the pale yellow post road leads in all directions like a winding stream.
Xiao Lin stood atop the city wall, gazing outwards. The peaceful scene before him was nothing but an illusion; he knew that the sound of iron hooves would soon shatter this peace. If Li Jun's prediction was correct, they might win without a fight; otherwise, a fierce battle was inevitable. Moreover, while facing the frenzied attack of the enemy, they also had to guard against a counterattack from those within the city who harbored the Tong clan—a situation that was far from favorable.
Sure enough, the sound of horses' hooves broke the morning's tranquility, rushing towards the city walls amidst the dust. Although Tong Chang was extremely anxious, he had not lost his composure. He rallied his troops outside the archers' range.
"It's over!" When he saw the Peace Army's battle flag fluttering in the wind atop the city wall, he closed his eyes in anguish.
The Tong family soldiers were also in a panic. Most of them were sons of Yinhu City. Now that their homes had fallen into the hands of the enemy, how could they not worry about their wives, children, and elderly parents? With this thought in mind, the soldiers couldn't help but whisper among themselves. No matter how the officers tried to stop them, they couldn't. Soon, the whispers turned into a disturbance, and some soldiers began to clamor.
"What should we do?" Ge Shun also felt helpless. His family was also in the city, and Tong Sheng, the head of the Tong family and governor of the state who was left in the city, was also in the city. They were worried about his safety.
"Let's wait and see..." Tong Changqiang tried to remain calm. The initiative was now in the hands of the Peace Army, and all he could do was wait for the final verdict. He really had no other options.
"Why not send troops to attack the city? The number of soldiers defending the city is certainly less than ours. If our army presses forward, we can surely recapture Silver Tiger City!"
"Are you out of your mind? Sending these soldiers to attack the city? Do you want them to turn against us? The Peace Army only needs to tie up their relatives, put them on the city wall, and then order them to tie us up. They'll do it without hesitation!" Tong Chang said through gritted teeth. At this point, he no longer cared about being polite.
Silent after being interrupted, Ge Shun turned his gaze to the city wall. Which was more difficult: sitting here waiting for the outcome or attacking the city for a quick death? He couldn't draw a conclusion at the moment, but from the soldiers' fearful and uneasy eyes, he knew that Tong Chang was right.
"Mr. Ge, would you be willing to go down to the city and inquire about the situation?" Tong Chang was extremely worried about his family and elder brother, but he had no way of knowing the situation in the city, so he had no choice but to send Ge Shun to find out.
Ge Shun knew that as a scholar, although he possessed some Confucian magic, he posed little threat to the city's peace army. Since the Thousand-Year War, highly skilled mages had either died in battle or gone into seclusion, and powerful magic had become a thing of the past. At this moment, it was indeed most appropriate for him to step forward and inquire about the situation.
So he rode his horse to the city walls, spread his hands from afar to indicate that he meant no harm, and asked loudly, "Which general of the Peace Army is in this city?"
Xiao Lin shouted back from the city wall, "Just say what you have to say, there's no need to ask so many questions."
"Now that things have come to this, we request peace talks and hope that your army will inform us of the whereabouts of our lord, Tong Sheng."
"Tong Sheng?" Song Yun sneered, reached out and picked up Tong Sheng's head, throwing it off the city wall. It almost hit Ge Shun, who spurred his horse to avoid it. When he realized that it was his lord's head that was being thrown down, he immediately rolled off his horse and fell to the ground. He held the bloody head in his hands and saw that Tong Li's beard and hair were mottled, and his eyes were wide open in anger, as if he had died with his eyes open in disbelief!