Juyi City was abandoned again. Something that had not happened for hundreds of years actually happened twice in six years.
This time, no one raised any objections to abandoning Juyi City.
There is no other reason. The army of Beiyi has arrived, and there are quite a lot of them coming this time, a total of 800,000. If you include the auxiliary soldiers, civilians, etc., I am afraid it will be more than a few million...
It was a real outpouring of enthusiasm!
Zhou Ziru sat in the carriage and swayed southward. Behind his carriage, there was another carriage, with the unconscious Yi Xiaodao and He Yue'er taking care of him.
"Luo Wei, how long will it take for them to come back?" Zhou Ziru sighed softly and asked Luo Wei who was following the carriage.
Before Luo Wei could answer, several figures came towards him, none other than Luo Wei, the "Yin Yang Eight Sons".
"Young Master, I'll wait until I get back!" the elder Zhu Sangqiu called in a low voice outside the carriage.
Zhou Ziru lifted the car curtain and replied in a low voice: "Things were done well, but why did it take so long?"
Zhu Sangqiu moved closer, and the others consciously pushed back the surrounding soldiers.
"We...failed to kill King Anxi."
"What? How did I receive the news that King Anxi was dead?" Zhou Ziru was puzzled.
"King Anxi is indeed dead. He was killed by Duan Tong from Beiyi."
Zhou Ziru was surprised: "What's going on?"
"I don't know anything about it, but when we arrived at Fengcheng, King Anxi had already been assassinated. The gossip in the city was that Duan Tong from Beiyi assassinated King Anxi."
"Just as I was about to come back to resume my life, I happened to encounter the Northern Crown Prince leading an army of 50,000 to attack Fengcheng. Hu Yanlan of Beiyi also led an army of 40,000 to take over Fengcheng..."
"What's the result?" Zhou Ziru couldn't help but leaned out of the window.
Zhu Sangqiu continued: "In the end, the Beidi Army and the Anxi Army somehow joined forces and killed 40,000 Beiyi soldiers and were defeated."
Zhou Ziru was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahahahahaha! Okay! Okay! It's really unexpected!"
Seeing that Zhou Ziru was happy, Zhu Sangqiu smiled softly: "Young Master, there are good things to come!"
"Anything else? Tell me quickly!"
Half of Zhou Ziru's body was almost leaning out of the car window. Zhu Sangqiu gently pushed Zhou Ziru back a little.
"The King of Anxi in Fengcheng had long ago sent all his wife, children, and children to the Central Plains. Now their whereabouts are unknown, and their whereabouts are unknown. Fengcheng was leaderless, and finally the civil servants and military generals in the city discussed it and voluntarily brought the entire territory of Anxi to the imperial court! "
"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Zhou Ziru didn't know what to say except "Okay".
"Also, Hu Yanlan led hundreds of remnants and fled north in a hurry, but was stopped by us. We wanted to capture him alive, but...he has his head here, please take a look at it, young master!"
Zhu Sangqiu said, waving to the gun-led Jiao behind him. The latter picked up a white cloth package hanging in front of the horse's head with his gun, and threw it towards Zhu Sangqiu.
Opening the package, Hu Yanlan's head was found inside.
"Seven of you have done a great job! Great! We knocked off Beiyi's 'brain', so it will be easy to handle now!" Zhou Ziru rubbed his hands, excited.
Originally, he came up with several strategies, but each one had its shortcomings. If he could hide it from others, he would certainly not be able to hide it from this "smart dog". Now that Hu Yanlan is dead, a serious problem in his heart has been solved.
"Young master, what else do you have to say?"
"You guys should rest, it's gone for now. I have an idea now, but I have to wait until I get back to the city."
After Zhou Ziru received a series of good news, the Central Plains army of more than 200,000 people seemed more majestic and their march became more brisk.
…
Returning to the city, it was overcrowded.
Zhou Ziru led more than 200,000 troops back to Guicheng safely, and the 500,000 troops promised to him by Zhao Yizhi had all arrived with the arrival of the last Yulin army, and they were all stationed south of Guicheng. .
Soldiers and horses can be seen everywhere in the city, but as a result, many people spontaneously left Guicheng, a place of right and wrong.
After all, many people were returning to the city, and they had never seen so many soldiers and horses in their entire lives. Even a fool knew that a war was about to begin. If you don’t leave now, when will you wait?
"King of the North Land, I am so happy to hear that the prince sent his son to Fengcheng and assisted Fengcheng in defeating Beiyi's 40,000-strong army!"
King Jin Mu of the North was sitting in the meeting hall. When he heard Zhou Ziru's congratulations, he knew that he did not mean to be sarcastic, but he still sighed: "Well, since Prime Minister Zhou knows it, there is no need to pay more. Lao Zhang is confused. ah!"
Zhou Ziru smiled softly: "The King of Anxi...maybe he is also thinking about the people of Li. After all, among the eight vassals, Anxi has been at war for many years...but Beiyi is feeding unfamiliar jackals. If it really surrenders...all the lives will be ruined..."
"Of course I know, why is this old Zhang so confused!" The North King was furious.
Zhou Ziru comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The past is over. Let's discuss... how to deal with the next thing."
"You mean Beiyi..."
The King of the North was like a deflated rubber ball, with unconcealable exhaustion in his eyes.
"A million-strong army...how can we fight this? Even my Northland arrows may not have a million arrows!" The Northland King felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.
Zhou Ziru said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there is a way, but...it's hard to explain clearly."
"Can we retreat the enemy?" the North King asked suspiciously.
"Yes!" Zhou Ziru nodded heavily.
"Speak! As long as you can defeat the enemy, I will do anything for you! Wait... you don't want my head... to pretend to surrender, do you?"
The King of the North had just shown his pride, but suddenly he became timid again. It's not that he's afraid of death, it's just that he's not ready yet...
Zhou Ziru was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly laughed: "Hahahaha, what did the prince say? Even if we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, we still have to protect the prince!"
Just as the King of the North was relieved, Zhou Ziru continued: "But...it's almost the same. We are not pretending to surrender, but to pretend to be defeated."
"Fake defeat?"
"Yes, we should abandon the city and lure the enemy deep into the city. Now that the Beiyi soldiers are outside the fortress, we will suffer a great loss in fighting with them in the field. But if we want to lure him into the Central Plains..."
The King of the North slammed the table: "Boy from the Zhou family! I ask myself that I am not a loyal minister and a good general, but I will never let the Northern Yi soldiers enter the pass with my own hands! I don't care whether your plan is sincere or testing me, I Just one word, and I will never leave the city even half a step away!"
"All the elites of Daqi are here. If we stay here, we will be eaten alive by the northern barbarians sooner or later! Your Majesty is not letting go to the city. Do you want all the elites of Daqi to be buried with you for your belief?"
"If all the troops and horses are lost, the entire Daqi will be in ruins! The entire Central Plains! What will happen to the people?"
The King of the North was speechless and clenched his fists after Zhou Ziru's rebuttal...
He also knew that Zhou Ziru's method was right. He even guessed the way to defeat Bei Yi after abandoning the city. That means food shortage!
In the Beiyi grasslands, cattle and sheep can be grazed anywhere and can be slaughtered at any time to serve as military rations.
But once they enter the customs, it is not so easy to carry cattle and sheep at any time. As long as the food route is cut off at that time, Beiyi's advantage will immediately turn into a disadvantage.
An army without food and grass will be defeated sooner or later.
Zhou Ziru looked at the King of the North who bowed his head, and then said: "Your Majesty, as long as the Beiyi are finally defeated, no one will remember that Your Majesty let the Beiyi people enter the customs, and it will be too late for the people to thank Your Majesty!"
"The methods of your Zhou family are... extremely dangerous, but the final results are good. Since you have already thought about it, there is no need to ask me..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhou Ziru was also a little embarrassed at this time. Guicheng has been the capital of the King of the North for six hundred years, and it can also be regarded as the home of the Jin family of the North. Now he is trying to persuade the other party to give up his ancestral business that has survived for six hundred years. It is normal to have some resistance. .
But it's good that the King of the North Land understands justice well and knows how to choose. If it were any other prince, he would probably not be able to get out of the palace.
"Has Prime Minister Zhou discussed this matter with the two gentlemen?"
Zhou Ziru was silent for a while and said: "Mr. Wu Ding is unconscious and it is difficult to discuss with him. As for Gong Zhongyi..."
Li Dingxing had a grudge against Zhou Ziru in his heart, so how could Zhou Ziru be the same?
When someone's father and brother were recently bereaved, he felt anxious to add insult to injury. What surprised him even more was that in the end, Li Dingxing took the initiative to apply to the court to withdraw from the vassal. Even in the many subsequent battles in various vassals, Li Dingxing led the Nanhuai Army to actively participate in the war...
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziru felt quite ashamed, but he never showed it at all.
"You two gentlemen... there won't be any problems."
The sentence passed vaguely, that was all Zhou Ziru could do.
The King of the North was also a smart man. Seeing Zhou Ziru like this, he stopped asking questions and instead discussed with him a detailed plan to cheat.
"We can't just abandon the city and leave. There are many capable people among the Northern Yi, such as that Hu Yanlan, who will definitely be able to see through our plan!"
Zhou Ziru shook his head: "Huyanlan is dead, don't worry. However, we cannot abandon the city directly. If the Beiyi see through this plan again and occupy the city without leaving, we will be passive."
"so what should I do now?"
"We need to defeat a battle first, and then leave some troops to defend the city... We also need some important people..."
"Then let me be the king. There is no one more suitable than me." After the conversation between the North King and Zhou Ziru, he seemed to have made some mental preparations, and his words often revealed the intention of seeking death.
"The troops and horses returning to the city are complicated now. Although I can command these 500,000 troops, I can't go too far... Let's discuss the bait matter again..."
The two of them finalized some other details, such as how to defeat them, how to introduce the Northern Yi to the Central Plains, and where to set up an ambush. They talked about everything until the bright moon hung high.
Although Guicheng is a big city, only the Northland Palace is the safest in the city. Yi Xiaodao, Li Dingxing, Zhou Ziru and others all lived in the Beidi Palace.
In Yi Xiaodao's room, He Yue'er carefully wiped his face with a warm towel.
"It's still like this, just like falling asleep." He Yue'er murmured to herself.
She had fantasized about today's scene countless times, with the tired Yi Xiaodao resting on her lap, and she carefully wiped the dust off of him to soothe his tiredness. But who knew that it would be possible under such circumstances. The unconscious Yi Xiaodao seemed like a living dead...
A figure quietly opened the door and entered the room quietly.
"Have you heard about it?" He Yue'er asked directly without looking back.
"Master Wife, I overheard something. They are leaving and returning to the city..."
