When the Huan State court decided to cede territory, how could it possibly discuss it with the common people? It was normal for the common people to be kept in the dark.
And before, the two parties had some kind of agreement on the matter of peace.
Now the news spread, and it was learned that the ghost tribe was about to enter Zhenyang. While secretly cursing King Huan, the people also fled for their lives, some running to find relatives, and some fleeing everywhere.
On the official roads behind Zhenyang, you can see refugees pushing wooden carts or dragging their families with them everywhere, and there is no end as far as the eye can see.
The ghost army camp.
After hearing the news, the Ghost King was furious. When he stood up, he overturned the table in front of him and dropped everything on the floor.
A ghost army general stood below, slumped in fear.
"In the previous peace negotiation, it was clearly written in the treaty that Huan's army should immediately withdraw from the battlefield and the people should not be relocated, so as to facilitate our country and successfully take over Zhenyang! What is going on now!?"
When the general heard this, his Adam's apple slipped and he swallowed hard: "I... our army's vanguard troops stationed in Zhenyang were severely attacked by Yan Zhengbu at the South Pass. They were... unable to enter the pass."
"This is unreasonable!" The Ghost King looked ferocious and said sternly: "Let Duo Ke, on behalf of this king, put pressure on Huan Guo immediately! Let Huan Jun's troops evacuate Nanguan Pass immediately! Tell him that this is not a request!"
"Yes, yes, His Majesty the King, please calm down..." the general responded hurriedly.
Sometimes, through diplomacy, war problems can be solved without spending a single soldier. This is the most perfect method, and the Ghost King will of course give priority to it.
The Duoke he spoke of was proficient in the Central Plains language and was also an official responsible for diplomacy from the Ghost Clan.
Under his order, Dok quickly met with Guo Kai, and the two sides held urgent talks on the matter.
Guo Kai was originally a weak and incompetent person, but the Gui tribe had a tough attitude, clinging to the peace agreement and making a fuss about it, hoping to hold Huan Guo accountable.
Huan Guo, on the other hand, was afraid that the peace they had finally reached would be torn up by the ghost tribe. While doing their best to please them, they ordered Yan Zheng to retreat again.
As a result, this order was ignored by Yan Zheng again.
The news was sent back to Xiang Ge, who also got angry and said angrily:
"What does Yan Zheng want to do!? Huh!?"
All the generals on the left and right were silent. It was obvious that Yan had done what they wanted to do but did not dare to do, which was something they admired from the bottom of their hearts.
But how could Xiang Ge think so? He only knew that Yan Zheng had already disobeyed two military orders from him, the supreme commander.
Seeing that the generals were silent, he looked at a civilian officer in the army and said sternly: "Go to the South Pass in person and tell Yan Zheng that if you come back now and apologize, I can give him another chance! If you dare to disobey orders again, military law will be enforced!"
"This..." The civil servant swallowed.
"Go quickly!" Xiang Ge glared.
"Yes, yes, I will obey your orders..."
South Pass is the main road that the Ghost Army must take to lead to Zhenyang. It is not far from the current Huan Army Camp, so the civilian officials rushed here the next morning.
The two met at the military camp.
The civil servant first bowed his hand and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. General, please come back and find yourself well."
Yan Zheng was not a fool, so he could naturally guess the purpose of the civil official's visit, so he didn't have a good face and said directly: "Master Kang, if you have anything to say, just say it."
"Haha." The civil servant smiled, organized his words, and said, "That's it. In view of the general's previous disobedience to military orders, Xiang Shuai asked me to convey that maybe there is a reason for the matter. As long as the general is willing to go back and give a reasonable explanation, this incident Things can be manipulated."
"Swivel?" Yan Zheng sneered: "What kind of bullshit military order is this! I can't accept it! As a soldier, my duty is to protect my family and my country!"
"General." The civil servant advised: "Why do you need to be strong for a while? As the saying goes, if you keep the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood..."
"This is not trying to be brave!" Yan Zheng interrupted him: "If our troops retreat now, the ghost army will soon enter Zhenyang. With more than 1.3 million people around, do they still have time to evacuate! Can the ghosts still escape? The clutches of the clan!"
"Why should these common people care?" the civil servant said.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yan Zheng was furious and said sternly: "It is precisely because of you guys! Our army is retreating steadily! We say it is asking for peace, why not just say it is surrender! Let me ask You! Since you want to humiliate the country and cede territory, why don’t you notify the people of Zhenyang and ask them to evacuate!?”
"Then...that's at the request of the ghost clan, and there's nothing we can do..." the civil servant explained.
"What did you say!?" Hearing this, Yan Zheng couldn't help it any longer, grabbed the civil servant by the collar, glared and shouted: "I'm giving up Zhenyang! I'm going to give my compatriots to ghosts." Clan enslavement!?"
He is a military general. How can a civil servant resist? When he was caught in front of him, he couldn't help but grinned and said: "General, general, please calm down. That is the decision of the court and has nothing to do with me..."
"Get out of here! Go back and tell Xiang Ge! I, Yan Zheng, will never retreat! Even if I fight to the last man! This is the determination of all our soldiers!"
After shouting fiercely, he also pushed the civil servant away.
The latter staggered and almost fell to the ground. In such a rage, he didn't dare to say anything, so he hurriedly ran out of the military camp with his tail between his legs.
After he ran away, a commander moved his lips and tentatively shouted: "General..."
Yan Zheng took a deep breath, and then closed his eyes in pain: "When the family and country are in trouble, everyone is responsible. I hate the generals in the army. They are all rats. The court is weak and incompetent. Although we have the heart to serve the country, we can't stand alone..."
He knew very well that five thousand men could not hold the South Pass, but he still decided to fight to the death, just to be able to hold on for one more day. One more day would give the people one more day to escape. .
When he refused to accept the order three times, the news was sent back to Xiang Ge. The latter was so furious that he couldn't help but cursed:
"Yan Zheng! You disobeyed military orders! You dared to call me by my first name! You really deserve death!"
He could be scolded, but now, he had nothing to do with Yan Zheng.
On the other side, Yan Zheng stood firm and refused to retreat. The Ghost King naturally began to hold Guo Kai accountable. The latter, while trying to please Guo Kai, also directly described Yan Zheng as a rebel, saying that he was no longer in the Huan Army's establishment. Be commanded.
Diplomacy was useless, the Ghost King was furious, and immediately stopped delaying, because if this continued, the people around Zhenyang would flee one after another, and by then, it would be an empty city.
He also immediately called a general and said in a loud voice:
"Launch a strong attack on South Pass immediately! We must wipe out Yan Zheng's troops within three days!"
"Yes!" The general shook his body and took the order and left.