Anyang County Sheriff's Mansion.
At this moment, Yu Anmin's face was full of joy. He looked at Jiang Xing with a smile and said:
"Sir's previous plan was indeed good. I, Yu Anmin, will definitely make a great contribution to the suppression of bandits this time."
As he spoke, he asked again: "By the way, sir, has Xiao Yuan agreed to send troops?"
Although he is the governor of Anyang County, Xiao Yuan's unit is a garrison, not a county army. Yu Anmin has no direct power to mobilize Xiao Yuan.
When Jiang Xing heard this, he smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, sir, Xiao Yuan has already agreed to send troops, and he will lead his troops to Anyang in a few days."
"Okay!" Yu Anmin was overjoyed and said immediately: "When the troops from all counties are assembled, I will entertain everyone at a banquet..."
Three days later.
County magistrates from all over the country gathered in Anyang. Among them, some magistrates brought three hundred people, some brought five hundred people, and some brought one or two thousand soldiers.
Including Yu Anmin's headquarters and county troops, the total army is 50,000. On the surface, the formation looks quite large, but in reality, these people are all improvised and they are just a mob.
At this time, in the county hall, Yu Anmin was hosting a banquet for county magistrates from various places, and of course, Xiao Yuan was also among them.
The two sides were filled with county magistrates in official uniforms. There was a case in front of each person with fine wine and delicacies. Xiao Yuan's position was right next to Yu Anmin's hands.
Seeing that everyone had taken their seats, Yu Anmin, who was sitting on the main seat above, said with a smile: "Today, I have been ordered by the emperor to attack the rebels. All of you have given me your full help. I would like to thank you very much."
"Wherever, these are all matters within the scope of our subordinate officials, and we must follow the lead of the county governor." An official said quickly.
Some people also began to flatter them: "Your Excellency is righteous and raises troops to fight against rebellion. He will surely defeat the bandits and achieve great fame..."
"Haha!" Yu Anmin looked up and smiled when he heard this, then held the cup and said, "Come, let's have a drink together!"
"We would like to pay our respects to the Sheriff——" People quickly picked up their wine glasses.
On the surface, the atmosphere of this banquet seemed good. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Yu Anmin also began to say: "At the moment, although the rebel forces have not spread to Anyang, they are only a hundred miles away. It’s a long way.”
As he spoke, he looked around and continued: "Therefore, I suggest that we send a vanguard force to capture Fengcheng and open the way for us."
Fengcheng is more than two hundred miles away from Anyang. It is a strong city under the control of Wu Yuan's forces. Although there are not many rebels in the city, the city guards the main roads. If Anyang's army wants to go out to quell the rebellion, they must first Pass this city.
When the officials heard this, they all laughed dryly, and then they all leaned forward and started chatting quietly with them. It seemed like they were discussing, but in fact they were evading.
There is no doubt that this vanguard is going to fight a tough battle. The ability of the county magistrates in various places ensures that they know who will go and who will die. Therefore, no one dares to talk to them.
Seeing this situation, Yu Anmin didn't say anything. It seemed that this was all what he expected. After a pause, he put down his wine glass and looked at Xiao Yuan, and said with a smile: "General Xiao."
"Sir, please speak." Xiao Yuan's voice was calm, and this was not what he expected.
"The general has always been brave. He used 10,000 troops to repulse 80,000 ghost troops. All the soldiers under the general are brave and good at fighting. From my point of view, this mission of recapturing Fengcheng is even more extraordinary. General." Yu Anmin said kindly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other officials suddenly came to life and began to echo: "Yes, yes, General Xiao, no one except you can take on this important task in this battle..."
Looking at everyone's faces, Xiao Yuan sighed helplessly. If Yu Anmin was a wise master, it would be easy to say anything, and he wouldn't mind being the vanguard at all.
But obviously, Yu Anmin did not regard him as one of his own. The current situation, to put it bluntly, was to use Xiao Yuan as cannon fodder to conquer the city. After the chaos was really put down, Xiao Yuan would not even be able to get any credit.
But Xiao Yuan had no choice but to raise his hands and say: "Since you are so generous and have such a heavy responsibility, I will definitely do my best."
"Okay!" Yu Anmin shouted excitedly.
Xiao Yuan added: "But in my opinion, the troops and horses have not moved, so we should go ahead with food and grass to avoid any accidents."
"Huh?" After hearing this, Yu Anmin waved his hand: "That's not necessary. General Xiao will just lead his troops to attack Fengcheng. Once your troops arrive in Fengcheng, the food and grass will arrive as soon as possible."
"This... okay." Xiao Yuan was helpless.
After the banquet, as soon as he returned to his headquarters and garrison, Peng Shuang and others came to greet him.
"General, how was the situation at today's banquet?"
Xiao Yuan glanced at a few people and said with a wry smile: "What else can we do? Yu Anmin asked our army to take the lead in attacking Fengcheng."
"I knew it was like this." Peng Shuang said, "I'm not afraid of fighting. What I'm afraid of is that someone will cause trouble behind me, let alone treat our soldiers as human beings!"
Ye Cheng asked: "Then, what is the general's plan now?"
Xiao Yuan pondered for a moment: "Even if Yu Anmin doesn't take our unit as the vanguard, we still have to fight in Fengcheng!"
As he spoke, he said to Ye Cheng: "General Ye, you must immediately send out a scouting horse to understand the situation in Fengcheng."
"Understood!" Ye Cheng responded with clasped fists and went directly to make arrangements.
The next day, Xiao Yuan did not make any pause and directly led his troops out of Anyang and rushed towards Fengcheng.
It takes time for the soldiers to march for more than two hundred miles. By the time the army arrives, it will be several days later.
At this moment, Xiao Yuan was resting before the battle. Not long after, Ye Cheng also walked over quickly, stepped in and saluted: "General, after many inquiries, we have a general understanding of the situation in Fengcheng."
"Oh? What's the strength of the rebels?" Xiao Yuan asked directly.
"About ten thousand people." Ye Cheng replied.
Fengcheng is not a huge city, nor is the main force of the rebels located here, but a stronghold of Wu Yuan. After hearing this, Xiao Yuan pondered for a moment, and then said: "The enemy's strength is nearly twice that of mine. It is really not suitable to attack by force, but there is no shortcut to open Fengcheng. Tomorrow, let’s test the strength of the city’s defense first..."
There was no words for the whole night, and the next day, Xiao Yuan's troops came to the city.
On the large plain outside the city gate, there are many halberds. Six thousand soldiers, with their waists straight, looking horizontally and diagonally, are waiting in formation. The scene is full of chilling atmosphere.
The flag fluttering in the wind was embroidered with a large character Xiao.
On the top of the city, the rebel soldiers all had cloth scarves wrapped around their heads, wore cloth armor, and held spears. They also stood three steps to one post and five steps to one sentry.
The rebel general Zhou Qi first looked outside the city, and then asked an officer next to him: "Whose army is this?"
"After inquiring, we found out that he is from Liucheng Colonel Xiao Yuan."
"Xiao Yuan? I've never heard of it. Nameless rats dare to attack our Fengcheng. It's simply ridiculous!"
