Champagne at halftime

In Bo Prefecture, amidst the mountains, an army dressed as the Qian Army was marching toward prefecture with a dejected look.

Song Ren was a former Qianniu Guard; his combat prowess was passable, but leading troops in battle was a different story.

His army of fifty thousand had been led around by the Local Chieftain Yang Zhao's troops in the forests of Bo Prefecture for over ten days.

Exhausted and suffering from a lack of supplies, Song Ren had no choice but to order a retreat to prefecture.

Yang Zhao naturally wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.

Just as the Jiannan Circuit army was about to leave the mountains and enter the plains, a sudden change occurred.

War cries erupted from the forests on both sides of the road, and a massive number of arrows and blowdarts flew out with sharp, piercing sounds.

"Ah..."

With screams echoing, soldiers fell one after another, and the subsequent trampling led to heavy casualties in an instant.

Immediately after, the Local Chieftain's troops charged out from the forests.

Exhaustion and chaos rendered the formidable Jiannan Circuit army completely defenseless.

After more than two hours, Song Ren finally led the remnants of his defeated troops to the plains.

Upon counting, they had lost over eight thousand men, and their military supplies were completely exhausted.

Not daring to conceal the truth, Song Ren fled back to Chengdu and sent the news of his defeat to The Emperor immediately.

The Emperor was truly filled with regret at this moment. He blamed his own stupidity, having forgotten what kind of person Song Ren was.

In terms of loyalty, he was top-tier; in terms of martial arts, he was second-tier; but in terms of leading troops, he wasn't even bottom-tier.

It was too late for regrets now. He looked toward his trusted ministers.

"Discuss this among yourselves."

"Your Majesty, the army has just suffered a defeat and is in no condition to fight. It would be better to cease hostilities and rest."

"Do you want to make His Majesty lose face before the world?"

Another person stepped forward and bowed to The Emperor.

"I believe that although the Jiannan Circuit army has just been defeated, its main strength remains. We should choose loyal and capable generals to handle the situation and restore the imperial court's prestige."

"Correct. How can our Great Qian bow to a mere Local Chieftain? I support sending reinforcements to Jiannan Circuit."

"I second that."

"I also second that."

For a moment, the crowd was filled with indignation, which strengthened The Emperor's resolve to send reinforcements to Jiannan Circuit.

"Issue an imperial decree: Appoint Left Martial Guard General Jiang Huaizhen as the Grand Commander of the Jiannan Circuit Expedition, and Right Martial Guard General General Ma Zhiyuan as the Deputy Grand Commander. Lead the Left and Right Martial Guards to reinforce Jiannan Circuit."

The Emperor revealed a cold and ruthless gaze.

"Before the new year, I want to see Yang Zhao's head on my desk."

Song Ren's disastrous defeat caused the tiger that was Great Qian to bare its sharp fangs.

At this moment, inside Zunyi, Yang Zhao was holding a banquet to celebrate this great victory.

"Hahaha, who would have thought that Great Qian was nothing more than this? A simple trick was enough to make them retreat in defeat."

"Exactly, exactly. I think we can completely invade the Sichuan region and take Chengdu."

"I heard we captured quite a lot of armor this time. I wonder..."

When it came to splitting the spoils, everyone's eyes lit up, and they all looked at Yang Zhao in the main seat.

Yang Zhao was also happy and waved his hand.

"Rest assured, everyone will have a share. After the banquet, everyone can collect five hundred sets of leather armor; as for those five hundred sets of iron armor, I intend to send them to Zhenyuan Prefecture, as Governor Wang Chuan's army is still eyeing us covetously."

The reason was sufficient, leaving others unable to refute it, so they could only grit their teeth and accept it.

This banquet lasted for three full days, and a group of people drank themselves into a stupor for three days.

Governor Wang Chuan of the Region was supposed to attack the Zhenyuan Prefecture area according to the original plan.

He had originally taken two counties, but after receiving the news of Song Ren's defeat, he stopped immediately.

Although he was greedy and loved money, he was a rare person who understood the situation.

He knew his own capabilities; while he wasn't exactly a fool, he was a mediocre person not much better than Song Ren.

Previously, with Song Ren as the main attacker attracting the hatred, he dared to secretly stir up trouble in the back.

Now that Song Ren had been defeated and retreated, he didn't think he could independently oppose Yang Zhao with his seven or eight thousand troops.

As for Gao Yuan, he was even more decisive; after receiving the news of Song Ren's defeat, he cursed "idiot" three times and remained motionless.

With both sides remaining motionless, Yang Zhao had the illusion that he had control of the situation, and couldn't help but feel a bit carried away.

Naturally, Yang Zhao did not choose to send reinforcements toward Dian Prefecture and Zhenyuan Prefecture.

As for the captured five hundred sets of iron armor, they were naturally kept for his own direct troops.

The Emperor was furious, so the actions of the Great Qian Army were naturally much faster. Plus, since they were fighting in the Sichuan region, there was no need to worry about logistics.

Therefore, just over twenty days after Song Ren's defeat, the eighty thousand troops of the Left and Right Martial Guards arrived at Chengdu.

In the middle of October, Jiang Huaizhen led the army and stepped into the territory of Bo Prefecture again.

This time, the one leading the army was a veteran of the battlefield, no longer a buffoon like Song Ren.

The Qian Army advanced steadily, quickly breaking through two passes and three counties.

By the end of October, the fifty thousand troops of Great Qian were approaching Tongzi Region, an important town north of Zunyi.

This terrified Yang Zhao, and he could no longer care about guarding against Gao Yuan and Governor Wang Chuan, so he hurriedly mobilized troops from various places to return to Bo Prefecture.

"Hahaha, it seems this idiot Yang Zhao is not much better than Song Ren."

After reading the intelligence, Gao Yuan laughed so hard his stomach hurt. He put down the secret letter and gave the order.

"Send someone to deliver a message to Zhengze, ordering the whole army to attack, and take Jianchang and Wumeng as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

Almost at the same time the Nanzhou Army moved, Governor Wang Chuan, who had been dormant for more than a month, also moved.

The Region camp was like a hot knife through butter, capturing several counties in succession, and it looked like Zhenyuan Prefecture was about to change hands.

At this time, Yang Zhao finally realized what a huge mistake he had made in his panic.

If Zhenyuan Prefecture were lost, Bo Prefecture would face a pincer attack.

"Local Chieftain, in this old man's humble opinion, we should cut off our losses now, abandon Tongren, and concentrate our troops to defend Zhenyuan Prefecture to avoid our army being attacked from both sides."

Faced with the crisis, these people seemed to have cleared their minds, becoming exceptionally clear-headed.

"As far as I know, that Governor Wang Chuan is just a mediocre person like Song Ren; as long as we promise him great benefits, plus the territory of the two prefectures of Zhenyuan Prefecture and Tongren as his war merit, I suppose..."

Yang Zhao looked troubled. He was truly unwilling to give up the territory that his ancestors had worked so hard to conquer.

However, given the current situation, with the Great Qian Left and Right Martial Guards pressing down on the border, if Governor Wang Chuan caused trouble from behind, he would really be close to death.

"Let... let me think about it again..."

"Local Chieftain, hesitation will only lead to disaster!"

"Alright, alright, you all go down. Let me think about it carefully before making a decision."

Yang Zhao's thinking didn't last long. Soon, news arrived that prompted him to make up his mind.

The Nanzhou Army, which had been quiet, appeared, and two routes of troops launched an attack on Jianchang and Dian Prefecture simultaneously.

In just ten days, three counties were lost in the two places, and over two thousand troops were lost.

If before he was only worried about being attacked from both sides, now he had to worry about being surrounded on all sides.

Gritting his teeth, Yang Zhao sent out envoys to both the Region and Dehong.

He didn't want Dian Prefecture anymore, and he didn't want Zhenyuan Prefecture and Tongren anymore. He wanted to use these three prefectures to exchange for a chance to rise again.

The messengers were sent out, but Yang Zhao felt extremely unwilling.

He stood on the Region wall, watching the direction in which the messengers left, gritting his teeth, and slammed his hand, knuckles white, against the parapet.

"Gao Yuan, Governor Wang Chuan, just you wait. When I catch my breath, I will definitely skin you alive with my own hands."

"Master, small patience leads to great plans. Those places were only temporarily lost. Once we defeat the Great Qian troops, we will definitely take them back."

Persuaded by the people around him, Yang Zhao felt much better.