Chapter 148

  The arrival of Shangguan Yuan's reinforcements greatly increased the strength of the defenders in Hengzhou.

  He had originally planned to go out of the city the next day to meet the enemy, but he didn't wait for the enemy, and the barbarian army started packing up their luggage and tents, preparing to withdraw.

  Of course, the barbarian troops retreated and were not intimidated by Yuanshuai's bravery, but received an order from Wang Ting.

  Tang Yin led the troops to launch a surprise attack on Bessa City, and this battle was a great success. Not only did they break into the palace, but they also almost took the head of King Bessa. King Bessa was deeply afraid of Tang Yin, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. As soon as Tang Yin's troops retreated, he ordered the herald to give instructions to General Kneiss, ordering the entire army to retreat immediately and not to fight against the Wind Army again.

  That was a matter of several days ago. When the herald brought his orders to the barbarian army's camp in Pingyuan County, it had already been five whole days. The barbarian and Pingyuan armies had also fought several fierce battles here at Hengcheng. At this time, Knie was in a dilemma, not knowing whether to fight or retreat. Seeing the king's orders, he secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart, and took advantage of the opportunity to order the entire army to withdraw.

  Seeing the barbarian army withdraw, the defenders of Heng City were overjoyed and immediately brought the news into the city.

  As soon as the news spread, people poured out of their homes and flooded the streets, creating a jubilant atmosphere like that of a festival.

  Shangguan Yuanrang had thought that today he could still show off his skills, but unexpectedly the barbarian troops retreated before he even took to the battlefield. He felt deeply disappointed and immediately wanted to lead a pursuit of the retreating barbarians outside the city. However, he was stopped by Shangguan Yuanyi and Xiao Muzheng among others. Since the barbarians had already retreated, they should just let them go; the city could no longer withstand any more turmoil. Everyone tried to reason with him and persuade him with emotions, and only then did they manage to pull Shangguan Yuanrang back.

  The barbarian army retreated, and the tense emotions were relieved. The soldiers of the Pingyuan Army suddenly fell down in a piece, and many vigorous soldiers heard the news of the barbarian army's retreat as if their strength had been sucked dry and immediately fell to the ground and could not get up. Every muscle in their body was sore, and it was a miracle that they could hold on for five days of fierce battle.

  The barbarian army left, and when the Pingyuan army went outside the city to clean up the barbarian camp, they found Zhang Zhou's broken helmet. As for the body and armor, there was no place to find them. In addition, a large number of bodies of the Pingyuan army were also found. They were the 5,000 soldiers under Zhang Zhou's command, all 5,000 people, not one survived. Many bodies were incomplete, and the Pingyuan army collected the bodies one by one with blood and tears.

  This time in the battle of Heng City, the Pingyuan Army suffered a direct loss of 30,000 men. One commander was killed and ten thousand-man commanders were killed. Even though they withstood the barbarian army's attack, it could only be considered a Pyrrhic victory.

  The next day, Tang Yin, who had gone on an expedition to the capital of Beisa, also returned safely to Heng City with his troops. After a long and arduous journey, Tang Yin's army looked even more miserable than the garrison in Heng City. Many of the officers and men had lost their armor and were wearing animal hides instead. They had not been able to bathe anywhere along the way, and their faces and bodies were streaked with dirt, sweat, and blood, making them look like they were wearing elaborate makeup.

  They looked more barbaric than the barbarians themselves. When the sentries on the city wall saw them, they were startled and thought that the barbarian army had counterattacked after being repelled.

  Tang Yin did not directly participate in the defense of Heng City this time, but his strategy of raiding the enemy's capital had a miraculous effect, with far-reaching influence, and was equivalent to directly scaring off the barbarian army. At this time, he returned triumphantly, and naturally received a warm welcome from the people of Heng City. Before the cavalry entered the city, the people spontaneously surged out of the city to welcome them.

  Seeing that Heng City was safe, Tang Yin also let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried the whole way, fearing that his sneak attack would be successful, but Heng City would not be able to hold on, and all his efforts would be in vain.

  "Congratulations, sir! Welcome back!"

  At this time, the leaders of the Pingyuan army and the officials of Hengcheng also came out to meet Tang Yan. They saw Tang Yan and bowed their heads in unison. After exchanging greetings, Xiao Muzhao stepped forward again, knelt down on the ground, and said excitedly: "Sir, I have not failed my mission, and Hengcheng has not been lost!"

  Tang Yan looked down at Xiao Mucqing on horseback, smiled leisurely, and what Xiao Mucqing said was to remind himself not to forget the promise he made earlier, giving him the position of Pingyuan Military Commander. Tang Yan didn't feel uncomfortable in his heart, but instead liked Xiao Mucqing's straightforwardness, he liked people who wanted something and went straight for it.

  He nodded and said with a smile: "General Xiao, you've worked hard."

  Tang Yin didn't call himself Xiao Canjun, and Xiao Mqing was overjoyed. He repeatedly said: "To serve the adults with loyalty, to serve the adults with diligence, I am not afraid of hardship."

  The surrounding plain soldiers were all stunned, in front of Tang Yan, Xiao Mucqing was extremely flattering and fawning, a complete small person, where was the slightest bit of calmness on the battlefield, leading by example? From beginning to end, it was simply like two different people.

  It's actually easy to understand that a commander who performs well on the battlefield may not necessarily be a good person in private.

  Everyone likes to listen to pleasant words, and Tang Yin is no exception, he laughed loudly on horseback.

  At this time, a cold hum suddenly spread through the crowd. Tang Yin was stunned and stopped laughing, looking around for the source of the sound. He saw that behind Shangguan Yuange stood a young man with an average build, dark and arrogant, holding a three-pointed double-edged knife in his hand, standing among the crowd, slanting his eyes at him.

  Before Tang Yin could ask, the two brothers behind him exclaimed in unison: "Second Brother!" As they spoke, the two brothers dismounted their horses and rushed towards the dark-faced young man.

  Second Brother? The only person who can be called Second Brother by Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao is the second son of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Yuanrang.

  Could it be that this man is Shangguan Yuan?

  As for Shangguan Yuanyu's name, Tang Yin was not unfamiliar with it. He had heard people mention it more than once, and the two brothers often told him how great their second brother was, saying that even if they were tied together, they couldn't compare to one of their second brother's fingers, and so on and so forth in praise.

  Seeing the two brothers return safely, Shangguan Yuan let out a sigh of relief and hugged them separately before asking: "Did you both really follow Tang Yin to attack the barbarian state's capital?"

  "Yes!" The two brothers, Shangguan, nodded in unison and said: "We both broke into the palace of the barbarian kingdom and got a lot of good stuff!" The two brothers proudly opened their robes to show off their spoils of war, including gold, silver, and jewels, to Shangguan Yuanrang and the surrounding crowd.

  The capital of Manbang was indeed breached by Tang Yin! Shangguan Yuan couldn't help but look at Tang Yin with new eyes.

  He was sizing up Tang Yin, and Tang Yin was also sizing him up. The two men's eyes met in mid-air, and sparks flew immediately.

  With similar youth and pride, their relationship can only be one of two things: arch-enemies or sworn friends.

  Xiao Muqing felt that the two were unusual, and he hastily stood up to mediate, smiling at Tang Yin: "Sir, this is the second brother of Officer Shang's family, Shang Yuanrang!" Then he said to Shang Yuanrang: "This is Tang Yin, Sir Tang!"

  "Ah!" Shangguan Yuan nodded, his head held high, and provocatively said to Tang Yin: "I've long heard of you, always hearing that you're brave and skilled in battle. I wonder if you dare to fight me?"

  Plop! Magistrate Ouyang Yuange and the surrounding crowd almost vomited blood after hearing this, unable to figure out what was going on in Ouyang's mind, how he would issue a challenge as soon as he saw Tang Yin.

  "Elder brother......" Afraid that Tang Yin would blame his younger brother, Shangguan Yuánjí hastily stepped forward two steps and deeply bowed to Tang Yin, saying: "My younger brother is used to wandering around and doesn't understand the rules, I hope elder brother won't mind..."

  Tang Yin smiled slightly at Shangguan Yuanyi, then looked back at Shangguan Yuanrang, sitting upright on his horse with an unreadable expression, making it impossible to tell if he was happy or angry. He asked leisurely, "What makes you think you can challenge me? How many enemies can you handle on the battlefield?"

  Shangguan Yuan let out a cold laugh and said: "I have the bravery of ten thousand men?"

  "What's the point? The world is so big, with so many people. No matter how powerful you are, can you defeat everyone? You're just a local bully, only able to dominate one region, but not conquer the whole world!"

  Is that the bravery of a common man? It was the first time that Shangguan Yuanrang had been spoken to in such a manner, and he raised an eyebrow in annoyance, retorting: "And what about you?"

  "I can!" Tang Yin's eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he said slowly and deliberately: "If I want to do so."

  Tang Yin's eyes suddenly shot out a brilliant light, which also made Shangguan Yuanrang's body tremble with a slight shock in his heart. After a moment, he snorted and said, "Boastful talk, who can't do it?"

  He shrugged, Tang Yin gathered the sharp light in his eyes and smiled: "If you think I'm just bragging, then stay by my side and see if I can really do it."

  "Alright!" Shangguan Yuan let out without thinking, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had been tricked. Tang Yin was too cunning, using words to trap him into staying by his side, which would be equivalent to surrendering to him! His eyes widened in anger and annoyance, pointing at Tang Yin, he shouted: "You..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Tang Yin had already spoken up and said: "A gentleman's word is his bond, once spoken it cannot be taken back, let us consider the matter settled!" Having said that, he didn't bother to pay attention to what reaction Magistrate Ouyang would have, instead he waved his hand at the crowd in front of him, then urged his horse forward and swaggered past Magistrate Ouyang's side.

  What's the point of saying that, did you agree to something with him? Officer Yuan turned back angrily and looked at Tang Yin's back on horseback, just about to shout, but was pulled back by Officer Yuan Ji, who said solemnly: "Yuan Rang, honesty is most important in being a person, one cannot go back on their word. Although the young master is young, he has exceptional abilities and great ambitions, his future prospects are boundless."

  He wasn't advising Yuan to necessarily submit to Tang Yin, but rather felt that with his temperament, if he were to clash with Tang Yin, it would be difficult to resolve, so it's better to temporarily stabilize the situation with his brother for now, and as for whether his brother would truly work for Tang Yin in the future, those are secondary concerns.

  After hearing Big Brother say that, Shangguan Yuan let out a deflated balloon-like sigh, and the words that had reached his lips were swallowed back, shaking his head helplessly.

  When he first met Tang Yin, Shangguan Yuan let had a deep impression of Tang Yin's cunning or reaction.