The visitor interrupted Wu Zimian's suspicion about the fur traders.
"General Qi, Yinzhou Pass has been captured." The visitor knelt on one knee and looked at Wu Zimian in his seat with his face that was wiped by smoke.
When Wu Zimian heard this, he was completely shocked and asked quickly: "If reinforcements have not been sent, how could it still fall?"
Yinzhou Pass is the gateway to Yulin City. Once Yinzhou Pass is lost, the rebels can go all the way north to Yulin City. The forts along the way are simply not enough to resist the advancing pace of the rebels.
"The reinforcements haven't arrived at all." The visitor said with a grimace.
Wu Zimian then remembered that it had not been long since Wei Weicheng led his troops to leave Yulin City. Unless he had wings, it would have been impossible to reach Yinzhou Pass in one day.
"Even if there are no reinforcements, can't Yinzhou Pass be defended for even one day?" Wu Zimian's face turned livid.
It had only been a day since we received the news that the traitors from the Tiger Character Banner had captured Jiazhou and Mizhi. It meant that the Yinzhou connection had not been defended for even a day before the traitors broke through the pass.
Hearing this, the man who sent the news lowered his head.
Although there were not many defenders in Yinzhou Pass, they were not able to defend it for even a day, which really made him feel ashamed. Of course, this was also related to the lack of weapons in Yinzhou Pass.
However, he did not dare to say these words. The reason why the weapons at Yinzhou Pass were insufficient had a lot to do with the commander-in-chief in front of him. Anyone who dared to openly resell the army's ordnance supplies was the commander-in-chief. Instruct.
Wu Zimian looked at the other party's look, feeling angry in his heart, and scolded him repeatedly: "You are a bunch of losers, what's the point of the court raising you? Why don't you get out of here."
The man kneeling on the ground quickly got up, bowed and retreated from the room.
"Go and invite Deputy General Li over. Tell him that I have urgent military matters to discuss with him." Wu Zimian told his own soldiers to invite Li Kaiyang.
Once Yinzhou Pass is lost, Yulin City will follow.
To defend Yulin City, it is indispensable to work together with Li Kaiyang. Once Yulin City is lost, he, the commander-in-chief, will be charged with the same crime of incompetence in combat as Li Kaiyang, and there will also be another crime of losing soil.
Wu Zimian's soldiers knew that the matter was important and did not dare to delay at all. They took the horse from the stable and galloped all the way towards Li Kaiyang's mansion, no longer caring about hurting the pedestrians and vendors on the street.
While waiting for Li Kaiyang, Wu Zimian walked around the house alone, with an anxious look on his face.
"What happened? Commander-in-Chief Wu is so anxious to send someone to bring the subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief's Mansion?" As the words fell, Li Kaiyang walked in.
Wu Zimian turned around and saw Li Kaiyang rushing forward to greet him. At the same time, he said with a heavy face: "Yinzhou Pass has been lost, and the bandit army will soon arrive at the gate of Yulin City."
Li Kaiyang was stunned when he heard this.
Although he had already heard the news from Zheng Hong, he was still shocked when he heard the news from Wu Zimian again.
The Tiger-Character Banner army was attacking the city and plundering the territory too fast. It had only been a short time since the opponent passed through Jiazhou and entered Yan'an Prefecture, but it was already threatening Yulin City.
"Deputy General Li should know better than me. Once the Yinzhou Pass is lost, there will no longer be a pass that can stop the bandit army, and Yulin City will be completely in danger." Wu Zimian looked at Li Kaiyang and said.
As for the shocked look on Li Kaiyang's face, he didn't think it was any surprise. When he learned the news, he was even more surprised than Li Kaiyang.
Li Kaiyang collected his thoughts, looked at Wu Zimian and asked, "What is Mr. Wu's next plan?"
"I have sent an urgent report to the imperial court asking for reinforcements. It will take some time for reinforcements to be sent out from the imperial court. Next, we need to defend Yulin City. Before the imperial reinforcements arrive, nothing will happen to Yulin City." Wu Zimian looked at it. Li Kaiyang said.
Li Kaiyang nodded and said: "General Wu and I have the same attitude regarding matters in Yulin City. No matter what General Wu does, I will fully support him."
"With your words, I feel more relieved. As long as we work together, I believe it will not be easy for the rebels to take Yulin City." Wu Zimian grabbed Li Kaiyang's hands and squeezed them tightly.
To defend Yulin City, he needed Li Kaiyang's assistance.
Li Kaiyang pulled his hand out from Wu Zimian's hand and asked: "The fall of Yinzhou Pass was too sudden. You Shichang is afraid that he will not be able to return reinforcements in time. The troops in the city are limited. How does General Wu plan to defend the city? "
Since Wu Zimian came to Yansui Town as the commander-in-chief, he has not only resold a large number of military equipment and houses, but also suffered from starvation and shortage of personnel in the army. There are also a large number of old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers in the army.
Not long ago, Yansui Town lost more than 10,000 troops in Shanxi, and sent two more troops to wipe out Wang Er and Wang Jiayin, so there were not many troops left in Yulin City.
Wu Zimian hesitated for a moment and said: "There are six to seven thousand soldiers and horses in the city. If we are to defend the city, there will definitely be insufficient manpower, so I wonder if we can first mobilize troops from the surrounding forts into the city. What do you think?"
"General Wu wants to mobilize the Yulin Guard's troops?" Li Kaiyang asked directly.
The number of troops in the Dunbao surrounding Yulin City is almost less than a hundred. Even if they are all transferred back to Yulin City, there will not even be a thousand soldiers and horses.
The only one who can provide a large number of troops to Yulin City is the Yulin Guard, and the commander of the Yulin Guard is very close to the Li family. Without him and the Li family speaking up, the Yulin Guard commander may not be willing to mobilize troops and horses to Yulin City to defend the city.
Wu Zimian's mouth twitched and he said with a dry smile: "Don't worry, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li, I will definitely intercede with the court for you regarding your stay in Shanxi. Our Yansui Town cannot be without you as Deputy Commander-in-Chief."
He thought that Li Kaiyang was worried about being held accountable by the court for his defeat in Shanxi, so he was unwilling to intervene in Wei Weicheng's affairs.
"I appreciate General Wu's kindness." Li Kaiyang clasped his fists and said, "Since I led the troops to defeat in Shanxi, I will happily accept it no matter how the court handles it."
He no longer cares whether or how the court wants to punish the crime.
Seeing that Li Kaiyang was not getting enough food and salt, Wu Zimian frowned and said: "It has been so long and the court has not sent any orders. It must be that the court also knows about Deputy Commander Li's difficulties, and maybe he has no plans to do so." I've been punished, so Deputy General Li doesn't have to worry too much."
"If Xing Youwei and Guan Ning's 50,000-strong army had not been defeated in Xuanfu, and there had been another Wang Er rebellion in Shaanxi, the imperial court would have issued a decree to punish me for my crime. Maybe I would have been put into a prison car and sent to the prison by now. Entered the prison of the Ministry of Punishment." Li Kaiyang stared at Wu Zimian with half-smiling eyes.
The embarrassment flashed across Wu Zimian's face.
He was responsible for Li Kaiyang's defeat in Shanxi. If Wang Er hadn't rebelled, he would have been the commander-in-chief who led the army in Shanxi. It can be said that Li Kaiyang took the blame for him.
