Seeing Wang Xiaolie's army bypassing his camp and arriving at the south of Dengzhou City, Yang Jin cursed: "Zhi Niang thief, how can Wang Xiaolie chase so closely? I killed Zhai Xing's younger brother, but he didn't even chase him. Come, here comes the man named Wang!"
Fang Youming on the other side said: "We are coming from Lushan County, which is within the territory of Ruzhou, so we are pursued by someone named Wang."
"Bad luck!" Yang Jin spat and led the people down the watchtower.
It was precisely because he was worried about Wang Xiaolie who was chasing after him that Yang Jin did not surround Dengzhou City. The main energy is to search for food and fodder around and force the strong to join the army. Thinking that Wang Xiao was chasing after him, he would just run south again. I don’t believe that Wang Xiao, the magistrate of Ruzhou, can chase him wherever he goes.
Seeing Wang Xiaolie's arrival, Tan Yan led the officials and went out of the city gate early to welcome him.
Wang Xiaolie dismounted his horse and met Tan Yan, bowing politely. Following Tan Yan, we entered the south gate of Dengzhou.
When we arrived at the Yamen, the guests and hosts took their seats. When asked about Wang Xiao's hard work on the hunting trip, Tan Yan said, "I wonder how many troops Wang Zhizhou brought?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Ruzhou has a small territory and few people. I only have more than 2,000 men. When I came to Dengzhou this time, I brought 2,000 troops and marched out of the city."
After hearing this, Tan Yan's face darkened and he said nothing. Although I heard that Wang Xiaolie defeated Yang Jin a few days ago, it was just a rumor, how could I dare to take it seriously? According to Tan Yan's estimation, Yang Jin's army outside was close to ten thousand. Two thousand people beat nearly 10,000 people. Is Wang Xiaolie a god?
After a few words of greeting, Tan Yan said: "Zhizhou has come a long way, and it has been a hard journey. I prepared a small amount of wine to catch the wind for Zhizhou."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Yang Jin's army outside the city is menacing, so we should be careful. Zhizhou, it's better to stop drinking these days."
Tan Yan felt nervous after hearing this and said hurriedly: "Yang Jin's army is still some distance away from the city of Dengzhou. If you want to besiege the city, you must be prepared. Don't worry too much. Zhizhou has brought an army, so you are not afraid of him anymore!"
Niu Gao on the side couldn't help but gear up when he heard the word "wine", and he seemed to be unable to hold himself back. Wang Xiaolie thought for a while and concluded that Yang Jin should not dare to attack the city within a day or two, so he had no choice but to agree.
When they arrived at Houya, Tan Yan ordered the curtains to be put up to keep out the cold wind. There are two plates of charcoal inside, so it's not cold.
Wang Xiaolie and the generals sat down, and Tan Yan ordered the food and wine to be served.
After drinking for three rounds, Tan Yan said: "The Zhizhou army has entered the city, and there are enough manpower to defend the city. My army will move to guard the west gate, and the Zhizhou army will guard the other three gates. In this way, the four gates are guarded, and there is no need to fear Yang. In."
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie agreed without hesitation. It was obvious that Tan Yan wanted to preserve his strength by letting Wang Xiaolie defend the north gate. However, Wang Xiaolie was not prepared to defend to the end and did not care about this.
Niu Gao drank several bowls of wine and became excited. He said to Tan Yan: "Zhizhou, it has been two days since Yang Jin arrived in Dengzhou. Hasn't there been any fighting?"
Tan Yan said: "I have less than three hundred soldiers and horses, how dare I go against him? I just defended the city. Yang Jin did not attack."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Yang Jin came in in a hurry. I wonder if the people in the surrounding villages and towns were prepared? Are there many people hiding in the city? I defeated Yang Jin at the foot of Minggao Mountain and fled in embarrassment with only about a thousand remaining soldiers. , and there is no food and grass. Looking at his current camp, many people have been raped and joined the army along the way, so food and grass must be in short supply. If we cannot get food and grass from the surroundings, we will not dare to attack the city for a while. "
Tan Yan said: "This thief arrived too early. How could he let the people enter the city? When he got to the city, he was even more afraid. The terrain around Dengzhou is flat and there are many villages and towns. You can rob a lot of food and grass by force."
Wang Xiaolie nodded, somewhat understanding. Yang Jin was afraid of being beaten by him last time. Knowing that he was chasing him, he didn't have the courage to attack Dengzhou. The main purpose of garrisoning here is to rob the surrounding villages and towns of food and grass.
But Tan Yan didn't know how badly Yang Jin had been defeated in Minggao Mountain. He had preconceptions and believed that Yang Jin had a strong army and strong horses, and Wang Xiaolie, who had only two thousand men, could not defeat him. This is a habitual thought he has developed over decades as a petty official.
During the dinner, Tan Yan kept urging him to drink. Although Wang Xiaolie restrained himself, he still drank until his head felt dizzy.
After the banquet was over, it was already late at night, and Wang Xiaolie and others were sent to rest.
Outside Zhang Jun's residence, several people were sitting together, drinking wine.
Zhang Jun said: "Zhizhou doesn't drink much. Why did he get drunk on the first day he arrived in Dengzhou? This is someone else's territory, so you should be careful. Could it be that Tan Zhizhou used some tricks to get drunk on purpose?"
Li Chengle said: "What good will it do to Dengzhou if you get Zhizhou drunk? I think Zhizhou was so happy when he saw the troops coming from Ruzhou that he drank too much without knowing it. Commander, the army has entered the city, so there is no need for this It’s been two days in one day.”
Zhang Jun said: "It has been more than a month since we arrived in Dengzhou. I don't know how many things I have to say to Zhizhou. How can we wait?"
After saying that, I drank a bowl of wine and felt extremely irritable. I stayed in Dengzhou for more than a month and missed the battle at Minggao Mountain. If you don’t make some achievements in Dengzhou, what will Zhizhou think of you?
At this time, Ruzhou's troops began to slowly take shape, and several generals were basically determined, but Zhang Jun was still unclear. Zhang Jun really wanted to be a military commander. How majestic it is to be able to unite two thousand soldiers and horses at less than twenty years old! If you work as a handyman next to Wang Xiaolie, what can you do? Zhang Jun could see that Wang Xiaolie was a very self-disciplined person, and there was no gain in working around him.
Tan Yan has all the faults of ordinary officials. Collecting too many taxes, being greedy for money, being greedy for life and fearing death, the list of faults is endless. But after all, he is a person from a small official background, and he is very measured in doing things. Although there are faults, each of them is not too serious or deplorable. People like this who are slippery cannot be underestimated. They are very careful in their calculations.
The next day, before the sun came up, soldiers hurriedly knocked on Wang Xiaolie's door.
Wang Xiaolie felt dizzy from the pain, so he reluctantly got up and ordered his soldiers to fetch water.
After opening the door, a soldier rushed in. Panting and crossing his hands: "Zhizhou, it turns out that all Dengzhou's soldiers and horses left the city last night! Even Zhizhou Tan Yan and their generals moved all their belongings and fled together!"
"What?" Wang Xiaolie rubbed his head and looked at the soldiers, confused for a moment.
The soldier said: "Last night, Dengzhou soldiers and horses went to guard the west gate, and the rest of the gates were left to us. Who would have thought that they opened the gate in the middle of the night and went straight to the west! From the looks of it, they had a premeditated plan and deliberately took advantage of us. Come and defend the city!”
Wang Xiaolie nodded blankly. After a while, he said, "Why did they escape?"
The soldier said: "I heard that Tan Zhizhou did not believe that he could hold Dengzhou and deliberately lured our troops into the city, so he escaped. If our army had not arrived, if he fled, Yang Jin would definitely chase him. When we came, Yang Jin would also I won’t chase you anymore.”
"Ahem——" After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie couldn't breathe. After a while, he waved his hand and said: "I know about this. I ordered Yu Huan to divide his troops to guard the west city gate. Also, ask a few commanders to come to me."
I was obsessed with seizing Dengzhou, but I didn't expect that the governor of Dengzhou no longer wanted this city. Things in the world are so bizarre that people can’t even imagine them. If I had known that Tan Yan was thinking like this, I should have sent him off.
Suddenly, Dengzhou City was captured, and Wang Xiaolie didn't know what to do for a while. As for Yang Jin outside the city, he knew that Wang Xiaolie's army was defending the city, so he had the courage to besiege the city outside.
