Chapter 135 of Volume 6

  "Good, good, good!" After listening to Yue Tian's explanation, Tang Yin gave three thumbs up and patted Yue Tian on the shoulder, saying: "We'll take this route then!" He paused for a moment before asking again: "How much longer until the barbarian troops reach the border?"

  "Judging from the marching speed of the barbarian troops, it will not take more than five days at most!" Le Tian said with a serious expression.

  "So soon!" Tang Yin took a deep breath, his eyes rolled around and asked: "If we set off now, following the route you said, how many days will it take to reach Besa City?"

  Lao Tian thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "It will also take... five or six days!"

  "How long will it take?" Tang Yin took out the map of Besa, looked at the location of Besa City and said: "Judging from the distance, riding the war horses of Mo Guo, we should arrive in about three days!"

  Le Tian smiled wryly and said, "Sir, if we don't avoid the barbarian army and charge straight ahead, we can arrive in three days. However, this time our route is a detour, and the journey is arduous, which will inevitably affect our marching speed. If we can reach Besa City in five or six days, it's already considered fast."

  The barbarian troops can reach Pingyuan County in five days, while our own troops will need five or six days to arrive at Beisa City. Even if the surprise attack is successful, it will take several days for the barbarians to receive news of it. Can Heng City hold out during this time?

  For the past two days, Tang Yin had not paid attention to the defense of Heng City. As for the specific situation, he was not very clear either. He immediately ordered someone to find Qiu Zhen and ask him about the current state of the city's defenses.

  Qiu Zhenyi smiled and said: "At present, General Xiao is using the entire city's military strength and manpower to build the inner city wall."

  "Inner city wall?"

  "Yes! General Xiao said that one city wall is not secure, we need to add another inner wall, so that we can have an extra line of defense and delay the barbarian troops!" Defending the city was not Qiu's strong point, and he had nothing more to say about Xiao's defensive strategy.

  Tang Yin nodded, adding another inner city wall would indeed greatly strengthen the defense of Heng City. However, the barbarian army was approaching quickly, and it was uncertain whether Xiao Muzhen could complete the inner city wall in such a short time. Now there was no time to worry about that, Tang Yin had entrusted Xiao with full authority over Heng City.

  He asked Qiu Zhen again: "Have you sent someone to the county seat to request reinforcements?"

  Qiu Zhen hesitated for a moment, nodded and said: "Already sent!" He indeed sent someone, but the one he sent was a thousand husbands who were too proud to be seen by others. He could predict that when the county magistrate Yu He saw this thousand husband, he would definitely not give him a good face, and the reinforcements would definitely not be sent. This was exactly what he wanted.

  It's better for him not to send any troops at all, rather than sending a bunch of useless soldiers who would only hinder our own side. This way, once we successfully defend against the barbarian army, it will be easy to impeach him and have him step down. As for the vacant position of governor, Tang Yin will then have a chance to take it over.

  This kind of words cannot be spoken, he must give the Pingyuan army hope, let the Pingyuan army expect the arrival of reinforcements from the county when resisting the barbarian army, and let them have the motivation to continue fighting. Of course, this expectation will also be a distant and unfulfilled one.

  It can be said that Tang Yin and his generals' energy was mainly used for external purposes, only Qiu Zhen devoted his mind to internal affairs. However, if there were no Qiu Zhen, a ambitious and cunning person, Tang Yin would not have been able to achieve his great career in the future.

  Misfortunes never come singly. Just as Tang Yin was about to set out to launch a surprise attack on Bessa City, news of earth-shaking proportions arrived, which further confirmed Qiu Zhen's initial speculation that their own side would not be able to wait for Wang Ting's reinforcements.

  Ningguo suddenly tore up the promise he had made to Princess Yinrou and launched a surprise attack on Fengguo's gateway, Tongmen.

  This time, Ningguo sent two Shang Jiangjun, namely Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi. The two brothers led an army of 400,000 and captured Tongmen in one fell swoop. The newly appointed defender of Tongmen, Yao Zhili, was captured alive by the Ning army, and the soldiers under him were killed or wounded to the last man.

  The 400,000-strong Ning army, after occupying Tongmen, marched straight to the capital of Fengguo, Yancheng. Yancheng was in a state of emergency, and Wang Ting hastily summoned troops from all over Fengguo to go to Yancheng to defend the capital. In a situation where there was no preparation or defense, the situation in Fengguo was already precarious, and it was questionable whether Wang Ting could even protect his own capital, let alone send reinforcements to Pingyuan County.

  This news caused a huge stir not only in Heng City, but also throughout the entire Wind Country. The loss of Tongmen was equivalent to losing the gateway to Wind Country. If Duocheng were to be occupied as well, it would mean the downfall of Wind Country.

  If there were no barbarian troops coming to offend, Tang Yin would also lead the Pingyuan army to rush to the capital city for rescue, but unfortunately now he has a surplus of heart but insufficient strength, to protect the capital city, first must successfully protect himself.

  Fan Mian learned that Tang Yin was going on another expedition to the barbarian state, and it was still the capital of the expedition against the barbarians. Fan Mian couldn't put his mind at ease, so he came to find him.

  At this time, Tang Yin was packing his things. Every time he went on an expedition, Tang Yin would not bring extra trifles, but this time was different, the journey was long and it had already entered deep winter, the weather in the barbarian country was getting colder and colder, so he had to prepare more clothes and food.

  When she saw Tang Yin, Fan Mian didn't speak immediately, but stood quietly beside him, helping him tidy up.

  Afraid of causing panic in the city, the news that the barbarian army is coming to attack on a large scale is still under blockade, and the people do not know about it, including Fan Min.

  Tang Yin's clothes were neatly stacked, and Fan Mianfang said in a low voice: "Why did you suddenly want to sneak attack the capital of the barbarian country?"

  Tang Yin's mouth twitched, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He changed the subject and smiled: "Of course I have a reason that can't be helped. Don't worry, this time is no different from usual."

  Fan Mian didn't understand military affairs, nor did she know the situation of the barbarian countries, but she could see the importance of a capital to a country. Now, wasn't the capital of Feng Guo also under threat from the great army of Ning Guo, causing people's hearts to be in a state of panic?

  "She said faintly: 'This time, we'll definitely encounter many enemies, right?!'"

  "Maybe a lot, maybe not much, heaven knows." Tang Yin responded casually and then straightened his body, looked at Fan Min directly and said: "Xiao Min, didn't you say you wanted to open a business in the county? I think for now you should go take a look at Shunzhou and see if there's any good business to do."

  Tang Yin rarely paid attention to his own business, and today he suddenly brought it up, which made Fan Min very surprised. She was so clever that she immediately realized that Tang Yin must have had another meaning behind his words. Combining this with his sudden decision to attack the capital of the barbarian state, her heart skipped a beat as she asked: "Heng City... is something going to happen?"

  Fan Min was very clever, and Tang Yan couldn't help but know that she had already felt something was off. At this time, he thought he could hide it, but he couldn't. He slowly nodded his head and said seriously: "This time the barbarian state has mobilized 200,000 troops to attack our Pingyuan County, whether we can withstand it or not, no one can say for sure. Xiangcheng is already a dangerous place. The reason I want to sneak into Bisa City is also to *drive away the barbarian army and relieve the crisis in Xiangcheng!"

  It turned out to be like this! In that case, Tang Yin was not actively ambushing the city of Besa, but was forced to make a desperate move. This trip is even more perilous! Fan Min's heart was lifted to her throat, but the expression on her face became even more determined. She shook her head firmly and said: "I'm not leaving, I want to stay in Heng City and wait for your return."

  At the moment of life and death, true feelings are revealed. Fan Min's stubbornness and persistence moved Tang Yin's heart deeply. With such a beauty by his side, what more could he ask for? Tang Yin couldn't suppress the emotions in his heart, so he reached out and wrapped his arms around Fan Min's slender shoulders. There were no sweet words or vows of eternal love, just a gentle whisper in her ear: "I will return!"

  Fan Min leaned against Tang Yin's chest, the steel armor was cold, but she could feel that Tang Yin's heart was scorching hot, and it was so close to her, closer than ever before.

  "General Yue is waiting for you outside the mansion!"

  Tang Zhong's voice was heard outside the door. This time he didn't knock on the door. Who says that stubborn people don't have clever moments?!

  Tang Yin heard this and wanted to push Fan Min away, but found that Fan Min was tightly grasping the strap of his armor and had no intention of letting go.

  He smiled and said in a low voice: "I said I would come back, I must be able to do it. Now it's just a temporary farewell, not a final one..."

  He hadn't finished speaking when Fan Min had already raised her hand and covered his mouth.

  She didn't say a word, expressionless, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, carefully wiped off the dust on Tang Yin's armor, then stuffed the handkerchief into his hands, stepped back, looked him up and down, and smiled brightly: "This time is much better, much cleaner."

  She was smiling, but her smile was heart-wrenching.

  Tang Yin grasped Fan Mian's handkerchief, which had her unique musk fragrance on it. The scent was light and not overpowering, refreshing and enchanting, making one infatuated.

  He stuffed the handkerchief into his chest armor, gave Fan Wei a faint smile, and then didn't stay any longer. He strode out in big steps, and when he went out the door, he still didn't turn his head back once. He simply swung his hand freely and said, "I'm leaving!"

  Looking at his expression and listening to his tone, he doesn't seem to be going to a life-or-death battle, but rather attending a banquet.

  As Tang Yin's figure disappeared outside the door, Fan Min could no longer hold on, the smile on her face vanished, and tears fell like broken pearls.

  She remembered what Tang Yin had said: A clay pot cannot be separated from the well mouth and broken, a great general is hard to avoid death in front of the formation...

  Tang Yin had not yet left the government office when footsteps sounded behind him, and he saw Cheng Jin and Lu Fang rushing over.

  Looking at them in confusion, he waited until they approached him and asked: "Do you two have something going on?"

  "Let's go together!" they said in unison.

  Tang Yin shook his head and said, "My trip is not perilous, the truly perilous one is Heng City. You two should stay behind, lead your respective brothers to assist the garrison in resisting the barbarian army!"

  Lu Fang Zheng said: "Sir, I am not a soldier of Pingyuan, and defending the city is none of my business. I just want to follow you!"

  Tang Yin treated Lu Fang with increasing courtesy, which made Lu Fang extremely grateful. If Tang Yin were gone, he would no longer have a reason to stay behind.

  "Haha!" Tang Yin chuckled and cupped his hands, saying: "Brother Lu's deep feelings and righteousness towards me, I'm very grateful. However, Heng City is my foundation, what I worry about the most is also Heng City. I hope Brother Lu can put in his best effort to help me share my worries and troubles."