Chapter 164 of Volume 9

  Zhao Er glanced at Tang Yin with the corner of his eye and asked in a mysterious tone: "Are you Tang Yin?"

  Tang Yin measured Zhao Er with his eyes, nodded and smiled faintly: "Yes!"

  Tang Yin received the edict: Zhao Er stopped talking nonsense and took out Zhong Tian's edict, loudly proclaiming it.

  After saying "Tang Yin, accept the edict!", Tang Yin only lowered his head but remained standing in place without moving. Zhao Er's face immediately fell, his eyes widened in anger, and he raised his voice to say again: "Tang Yin, accept the edict!"

  Tang Yin heard this and still didn't move, nor did he intend to kneel down to receive the edict.

  At this time, the Tianyuan army around began to appear in batches. Still, no one spoke, but the friction between the armor had already started to rise and fall. Zhūnǒ stood at the front of the crowd, his eyes wide with anger, his hand grasping the hilt of his sword, as if he was about to draw it. Bái Yǒng hastily pressed down on his wrist, shaking his head slightly towards him, indicating that he should not act rashly.

  They still don't understand Tang Yin's decision, how can they act rashly?

  Blocked by Bai Yong, Zhuo's hand holding the sword slowly relaxed.

  Inside the court.

  Before Tang Yin had made a move, Zhao Er's anger reached its peak. He pointed at the tip of Tang Yin's nose and shouted in a shrill voice: "You daredevil Tang Yin, why don't you hurry up and kneel down to receive the imperial edict? Are you going to rebel or what?"

  "Haha——" Tang Yin, who was originally standing with his head down, suddenly raised his head, a pair of eyes flashing with evil light almost shooting out rays, also startling Zhao Er. The latter's heart was frightened, stuttering: "Tang...Tang Yin..."

  "I'll take you down, mom!" Without warning, a curved knife appeared in Tang Yin's hand. As his arm swung, the curved knife swept out from bottom to top with a crisp "ka-cha" sound, and Zhao Er's half head was cut off, brain matter splattering all over the ground.

  Tang Yin took a big step forward, grabbed the hair of the beheaded head with one hand, and then held up half of Zhao Er's head high, shouting loudly to the surrounding soldiers: "This is my determination!"

  Whoa! As soon as the sword was drawn and the words were spoken, the entire square erupted in a frenzy of noise. Regardless of whether they were soldiers or generals, everyone shouted in unison: "The great lord is mighty, restore the country, restore the country; The great lord is mighty, restore the country, restore the country!"

  The shouting continued for a long time without stopping. With Qiu Zhen as the leader, the other generals finally let out a sigh of relief. Book fans also like to read:

  Tang Yin killed Zhao Er with one sword, showing his determination, which was also a formal declaration of war against Zhong Tian. The great battle between the two sides is about to unfold quietly.

  Although Zhang Zhe had given Tang Yan three major reasons for a sure victory, now that they were outnumbered, he couldn't rashly send out troops.

  Understood Tang Yin's decision, Shangguan Yuange, Fan Min and his door guests also rushed to the Tianmen Pass.

  Shangguan Yuanyi said to Tang Yan after meeting him, "No matter how far the adults and the rebels fight, as long as it's not at the last juncture, we absolutely cannot retreat to Tianmen Pass and let the enemy reach the city walls."

  "What?" Tang Yin asked in surprise as Shangguan Yuanyu suddenly blurted out this sentence. "Why?"

  Shangguan Yuanji changed his expression and asked in return: "What is your foundation?"

  Before Tang Yin could respond, he preempted: "It's Tianyuan County. With over 200,000 troops under your command, what supports them is the prosperity of Tianyuan County. If the enemy lays siege to the city and blocks the Tian Pass, it would be equivalent to sealing off Tianyuan County. At that time, merchants will flee, civilians will escape, and Tianyuan County will become like Pingyuan County in the past, with no financial revenue. How can you then support over 200,000 troops?"

  Tang Yin thought carefully and felt that although Shangguan Yuange's words were somewhat exaggerated, they weren't entirely unreasonable. The current prosperity of Tianyuan County was indeed driven by merchants from other places, and a large part of the county's revenue came from them as well. If a large army were to approach, these outside merchants would definitely flee, which would also cause significant harm to Tianyuan County.

  It would be better to fight against Zhong Tian on a battlefield outside of Tianguan. In order to avoid financial losses, we must abandon defense and choose offense." He nodded and smiled: "Yuanyi, I understand."

  In the evening, Tang Yin gathered his subordinates and discussed military affairs.

  Now, the Tianyuan Army's formation is complete, with many civil and military officials, and when discussing military affairs, there are more than 20 battalion commanders alone, and deputy battalion commanders can't even squeeze into the main tent.

  Looking at the densely packed crowd in the tent, Tang Yin spoke first: "Our army is about to engage in battle with the rebel army. Who has a good strategy, speak up quickly!"

  "Sir!" At this time, a civil official named Sheng Yu cupped his hands and said: "General Zhong has many soldiers under his command. When you go on an expedition, sir, you cannot be rash, but should advance step by step, occupying one county at a time, before planning to push forward to Yancheng." He was one of the new talents who had recently joined Tang Yin and been taken in as a staff officer.

  What he said about tactics makes sense, but it's not what Tang Yin wants to hear.

  At this time, Zhang Zhe shook his head repeatedly, expressing disagreement with Sheng Yu's statement. He said seriously: "Sheng sir, it's still too early to discuss strategy and tactics now. Before we go on an expedition against the rebels, we must do one thing first, which is also the most important thing - that is, rescue Liang Xing, Wu Yu, and Zi Yang Haosun, these three important ministers!"

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yin's eyes lit up, and he didn't interrupt, waiting for him to continue.

  Zhang Zhe said, "Only by rescuing them can we greatly weaken Zhong Tian's military strength. On the other hand, if we rescue these three ministers and bring them to our side, their families' military strength will naturally come to support us, which is a total of 200,000 central troops. If they defect to our side, the numerical disadvantage of our army against the rebels will be greatly reduced."

  "That makes sense!" This was the kind of strategy Tang Yin wanted to hear. He may not be a person who excels at strategy, but he can distinguish which strategy is beneficial to himself and which one is not. Tang Yin's ability to get to where he is today is definitely not just due to brute force and luck.

  He looked at Le Tian and Ai Jia, asking: "What is the current situation in Yancheng? Have you found out where Liang Xing, Wu Yu, and Zi Yang Hao Chun are being held under house arrest?"

  "Yes, sir!" Ai Jia said: "The entire city is now under the control of Zhong Tian's party. The garrison and palace guards have been replaced with troops directly under Zhong Tian's command. They are conducting strict checks on people entering the city. Additionally, Liang Xing, Wu Yu, Zi Yang Hao Chun and their families are all under house arrest at the Zhong estate, guarded by the 15th battalion under Zhong Tian's command."

  Hearing this, Tang Yin furrowed his brow.

  Qiu Zhen said: "Sir, we can organize a group of people to sneak into Yancheng and look for an opportunity to rescue them!"

  Tang Yin thought for a moment, slowly shaking his head. Now the city of Yancheng was guarded by Zhong Tian's men, and it would be difficult to sneak in without being detected. Moreover, there were a whole battalion of soldiers watching over Liang, Wu, and Zi Yang's three families, making it even more challenging to rescue them quietly. If they alerted Zhong Tian, not only would the rescue fail, but they would also end up delivering themselves to death.

  "This... is probably going to be tough!"

  "Sir, at the end of next month, Zhong Tian is going to marry Wu Jia's eldest daughter, Wu Mei. You must stop him!" Zhang Zhe said: "If this marriage takes place, Zhong Tian will have tied up Wu Jia, forcing him to stand on his side. If Wu Jia wavers in his stance, the Liang and Zi Yang families may follow suit for their own protection. By then, even if you rescue them, it will be too late."

  Tang Yin raised his head, sighed quietly, he wanted to rescue Wu Mei more than anyone else, but with the rebel and Ning army approaching nearly a million inside and outside of Yangzhou, how could they safely rescue her?

  "Before saving people, help me think of how to sneak into the city first!" Tang Yin looked around at everyone and said quietly.

  Qiu Zhen and Zhang Zhe looked at each other, both lowering their heads in contemplative silence.

  At this time when everyone was thinking of a good strategy, Tang Yin's gatekeeper Lu Fang suddenly spoke up and said: "Sir, I have a way to enter the city!"

  "Oh?" Tang Yin and everyone present were shocked at the same time, asking: "What method?"

  Lu Fang said: "I have a friend who is a wandering knight, living in Yancheng." As he spoke, he looked at Tang Yin with difficulty and continued: "Your Excellency also knows that when a wandering knight travels the world, it's inevitable to encounter strong robbery and extortion, and it's also inevitable to do some strong robbery and extortion..."

  Listening to his nonsense, Tang Yin couldn't help but roll his eyes. He cleared his throat and emphasized, "This is a military camp, where we discuss military affairs. Brother Lu, please get to the point."

  He glanced at the others, who were all looking equally impatient, and he quietly stuck out his tongue before continuing: "To put it bluntly, this wandering friend of mine used to be a bandit when he was young, but later he turned over a new leaf and bought a house in Yangzhou, settling down...". Seeing that Tang Yin's mouth twitched with impatience again, he hastily added: "He was afraid that the things he did when he was young would be exposed and he'd get caught by the authorities, so he secretly dug a hidden passage in his home that leads directly to outside the city..."

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yin's eyes sparkled with a hint of curiosity as he asked: "Is this secret passage still there?"

  "This...". Lu Fang also didn't dare to be certain, he said: "I don't know, I and this friend may not have seen each other for a long time. Now whether he still keeps this secret passage or not, I'm not very clear."

  "Ah..." Tang Yin hesitated for a moment, then said: "Lu brother, you immediately go to Yan City now. As a former wandering knight, you should not be subject to too much scrutiny when entering and exiting. After meeting your friend, first ask about his stance, then inquire about the underground affairs. If everything is fine, report back with a flying pigeon at once!"

  "Yes, sir!" Lu Fang nodded and responded, then asked again: "Are we leaving now?"

  "It's now, immediately, right away!" Tang Yin urged in a urgent voice.

  "Yes!" Lu Fang stopped asking more questions and immediately turned around and walked out of the big tent.

  "After Qiu Zhen walked away, he said: 'Sir, if there is a secret passage that can be used, then this matter will be easy to handle. Even if we force our way in to rescue someone, we can use the secret passage to escape. At that time, all we need to do is leave someone at the exit of the secret passage outside the city to receive us. I don't know, sir, who you plan to send and how many people will be sent?'"

  Who to send? Tang Yin smiled, no matter who he sent, he would feel uneasy. He said: "This matter can only be done by me in person, as for who to bring," paused for a moment, he looked at Cheng Jin and said: "It's enough to have brothers with hidden arrows follow me!"