Under Runji's dispatch, the coalition forces marched towards Anning City in a siege.
On the way, Runji received news that although Anning City is Tiancheng's main city, it is not a strong city. On the contrary, because of the baptism of war just now, the current Anning City is more dilapidated than ordinary cities, which further strengthens Runji's idea of speeding up the march. If Fang Shisan receives the news in advance, she will probably abandon the city directly If he leaves, the plan to wipe out the Yunyang army will come to nothing.
After reaching the vicinity of Anning City all the way, Runji reined in the horse again, slowing down the marching speed of the army, and fell into a short thought. The previous bad premonition vaguely reappeared in his mind. After all, it was too quiet here, and there were no soldiers or fortifications in Yunyang on the road, which was far from what he expected.
"Where are the people from Yunhai? Are you here?"
Runji asked the adjutant beside him, and the adjutant replied:
"I don't know. It stands to reason that they should have arrived almost..."
Runji frowned. At this time, the general from the heart rode over and said:
"My lord! Just now there is news from the front that Yunyang's army seems to be planning to abandon Anning City and retreat to the south."
The adjutant whispered:
"It seems that they have noticed our movements..."
Runji's face was as usual, he tapped his trouser legs twice, and said:
"It's normal. It means that Yunyang's Anbu has good organizational skills, and we can't hide from them about our urgent march. But this reaction speed is a bit too fast. We are in a hurry, even if it is Feige passing the letter, it should not be so That's right. Do they have any other channels to transmit information, or Fang Shisan has already prepared to retreat... "
The general who took care of his heart said:
"My lord, I think the most urgent task is to control Anning City and declare that Yunyang's rule here has been abolished. When I was marching today, I sent soldiers to investigate the vicinity and found that although the people here have regained some humanity, but at the same time They also had a preconceived impression of Yunyang. They were very repulsive to us. After hearing that we were here to encircle and suppress Yunyang's army, they even had violent conflicts with my subordinates... "
Facing General Zhaoxin with a displeased face, Runji said with a smile:
"Isn't this normal? Yunyang assisted them in killing the insensitive Lord Tiancheng, and gave them new support. Those people are already poor, and it is rare to meet a human Lord, so they will naturally be grateful to him. Of course, this is also It is due to the hard-working propaganda of Yunyang Mouthpiece... But it doesn't matter, the people won't work their lives out of gratitude, and when we take over Tian Cheng, you can hear them singing the same hymn to us."
After finishing speaking, Runji told the adjutant:
"Since Fang Shisan has the idea of withdrawing troops, we will continue to move forward. First occupy Anning City, and then block Wanshi Mountain. We will hold what she gave up, but at the same time we will further compress her living space If she takes one step back, we will take two steps forward, forcing her to nowhere. Then send someone to urge the sea of clouds to tell them to move faster."
The mighty army walks on the desert-like land, and the cold wind blows dry sand.
The sound of horseshoes was chaotic, and the sound of armor colliding made people panic.
Two hundred thousand troops is not a small number, especially the elite cavalry that includes a considerable part of Duke Huai's territory.
The warhorses in King Huai's territory are the best in the entire Eternal Heaven Kingdom, and the cavalry trained with local materials are also very powerful in combat. Because of being able to fight well, for a long time in history, foreign wars in King Huai's territory were very plain and boring, and heavy cavalry just ran over them all the way. It's simple, you don't need to learn any art of war, just know cavalry chain formation.
This cavalry is the blood of Duke Huai's territory.
When walking near Anning City, Runji suddenly noticed something, and asked while frowning:
"Has the soil here been touched?"
The adjutant replied:
"Yes. But our people have all stepped on it, and even rolled it here with a rolling log, without triggering any falling traps."
Runji asked a question:
"Is there any investigation into why the soil was turned?"
The adjutant replied:
"Yes. Our people dug up some new soil and found a lot of corpses inside. It seems that there has been a murder here before. We captured some nearby people. According to the information they provided, Zhao Chen's army drove a large number of Tiancheng's people to attack Anning City. Many people wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, and many people would rather be enemies with the army than resist the rule of Lord Tiancheng. These people were all killed without mercy. After Lord Tiancheng's downfall, Yunyang used the excuse of incompetence to kill a group of people, and they were buried here together."
After thinking about it carefully, Runji understood what the adjutant meant by "incompetent work".
If he guessed correctly, Zhaochen's army drove away Tiancheng's people all the way, and in the end at least hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people gathered outside Anning City. After the downfall of Lord Tian Cheng, such a large number of refugees became a burden. They have to eat food and share property while they are alive, and it seems that they have no effect when they die. At this time, it is the wisest choice to find an excuse to erase part of it.
When resources cannot support so many people, some people are destined to die so that the world can continue to operate. This is the meaning of war. Runji didn't feel that there was any sense of disobedience, because he would have done the same thing if he had done it differently. Even though King Huai's territory publicly condemned Li De for only paying 100,000 gold coins to support Tiancheng, they would not spend more money to show that own kindness.
Whether Tiancheng's people live or die has nothing to do with them.
Runji looked at the new soil on the ground and said with a smile:
"It seems that many people are buried here."
The adjutant nodded:
"The subordinates feel the same way. Increase revenue and reduce expenditure...they are also cruel enough."
Runji shook his head:
"In this world, those who are not ruthless will die long ago. Either be ruthless to others, or be ruthless to yourself..."
He clamped his legs between the horse's belly and entered the unguarded city of Anning.
The infantry followed him into the city, and the cavalry stood by. Runji was not worried that Fang Shisan had an ambush, the soldiers had already checked it out, and now Anning City was an empty city, with no army or people, only some food, grass and treasures that could not be transported away in time. Runji jumped off his horse when he reached Lord Tiancheng's mansion, and entered the sealed mansion.
He walked silently along the waterside terrace, and suddenly saw a wooden stand placed at the door of a room, on which was written "office" with a vermilion brush. The style was completely different from the surrounding buildings, obviously it belonged to the Yunyang Army. The place where the general once stayed.
Runji walked in subconsciously, and the inside was tidy, only a letter was pressed on the table with a paperweight.
He stepped forward and picked up the letter. The words on it were round but not neat, and the frame structure looked a bit strange, as if it was written with eyes closed.
There are only three simple words on the white letter paper:
"sorry."
Runji shivered for no reason, his hair stood on end, a bad premonition urged him to drop the letter and rush out the door.
Then, he witnessed a scene he had never seen in his life.
The flames went straight from the center of the city to the sky, destroying everything around them in a destructive manner.
A huge mushroom cloud slowly rises over this war-torn land.