"After all, our army's current western and eastern fronts are becoming increasingly disadvantageous to us!"
"So we must defeat Li Xianzhong and use it as a breakthrough!"
"Li Xianzhong fought bravely and was good at strategy. It will not be easy to defeat him!"
"So Your Majesty, you must not be too impatient. Waiting for the opportunity is the most important thing!"
"But when is the best time to wait for the opportunity?"
"Everyone makes mistakes. It is impossible for Li Xianzhong to have no weaknesses, so we just wait and see what happens!"
"...!"
Xu Xian and Xin Qiji were discussing the war at this time.
"Your Majesty!"
"Li Xianzhong's troops are now heading towards our Nanyang direction!"
"Now that the enemy's army is less than thirty miles away, should we go to fight immediately?"
Yang Polu suddenly broke in.
"What was supposed to come has come!"
"military adviser!"
"What do you think?"
Xu Xian immediately turned his attention back to Xin Qiji.
"Since there is no chance of winning in a head-to-head confrontation with Li Xianzhong's troops, why don't we give up Nanyang first?"
"After all, Li Xianzhong didn't rescue Dengzhou before. Your Majesty, you should return the favor!"
Xin Qiji suggested.
"The military advisor wants me to abandon Nanyang?"
Xu Xian wanted to confirm.
"Yes!"
"It's rude to come and not reciprocate!"
"Moreover, Your Majesty, you should send people to spread the word, saying that the reason why we gave up Nanyang voluntarily is to repay the favor of the Battle of Dengzhou!"
Xin Qiji said.
"But this is it!"
"Are we being too unethical?"
"If this matter spreads to the Song Army camp, wouldn't everyone there be suspicious that Li Xianzhong is secretly communicating with us?"
Of course Xu Xian understood the consequences of this.
"The battle between the two armies is originally about intrigues and deceptions. There is only killing on the battlefield. How can there be any benevolence and righteousness?"
"Does Your Majesty still want to be moral at this time and wait to see his army wiped out by the enemy?"
Xin Qiji immediately stated his interests and harms.
"The military advisor is right!"
"so be it!"
"Immediately order down, in the name of returning the Song Army to Li Xianzhong and showing mercy to our Dafu Army in Dengzhou, all troops should withdraw from Nanyang immediately!"
Xu Xian listened to Le Xin Qiji's advice.
Nanyang two hours later.
"Report to Li Dutong!"
"Those big cauldron bandits have all retreated from Nanyang!"
"And they even claimed that they retreated in order to return the favor of your ruler!"
"These remarks of the traitor army have now spread throughout our army, and are now in the army...!"
A general reported to Li Xianzhong who had just entered Nanyang County.
"What?"
"Those rebels said it was to repay the favor of the capital?"
"What does it mean?"
When Li Xianzhong heard this, he naturally felt that something was wrong.
"Those bandits are now spreading the word everywhere that they are controlling you in order to repay the old friendship of the bandit leader Xu Xian. They intentionally did not support Wang Zhen in attacking Dengzhou, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 of Wang Zhen's elite troops in Dengzhou. Therefore, the bandit army this time
Taking the initiative to withdraw from Nanyang is entirely to return the favor of Dengzhou, who controlled you last time!"
The general explained.
"How could you, a Xu Xian, actually plot against me like this!"
"Notify me now!"
"It's not that I, Li Xianzhong, didn't save Dengzhou, but because Wang Zhen underestimated the enemy and fell into the trap of the rebel spies, which led to the annihilation of his entire army. Even if I want to save Dengzhou, I can't save it!"
"This is an attempt by the traitors to sow the morale of our troops, so that no one can make any unreasonable comments, otherwise they will be dealt with according to military law!"
When Li Xianzhong heard the news, of course he looked furious.
So Li Xianzhong led his army to angrily pursue Xu Xian's army to stabilize the morale of the army.
Ruzhou City.
"His Majesty!"
"Li Xianzhong's army has crossed Lushan and is chasing us in the direction of Ruzhou!"
The spy reported to Xu Xian.
"Is this Li Xianzhong crazy?"
"Are you actually pursuing me like this?"
Xu Xian had just entered Ruzhou City at this time.
"In the past, Duke Wen of Jin retreated from King Chu Cheng's army in retaliation!"
"And now you have to retreat in order to repay Li Xianzhong's kindness, so we can't retreat anymore!"
Xin Qiji reminded Xu Xian.
"Yes!"
"It is true that we cannot retreat any further. If we retreat, we will only have to retreat to Yiqueguan to fight. This is completely unnecessary!"
"In that case, let's fight Li Xianzhong's Song army at Guangcheng Pass in Ruzhou!"
Of course Xu Xian is aware of the current situation.
"Li Dutong!"
"Not far ahead is Guangcheng Pass!"
"I heard that Thief Xu's army is stationed here waiting for us!"
A spy came to report to Li Xianzhong.
"Guangcheng Pass?"
"I heard that Guangcheng Pass has been the first pass between Deng and Luoyang since ancient times. It has always blocked countless heroes. Today, I, Li Xianzhong, will try to see if Guangcheng Pass is really as strong as the legend says!"
"Come down, everyone, get ready and follow me to knock on the door immediately!"
Li Xianzhong said, took the lead on his horse and rushed towards Guangcheng Pass.
"Your Majesty!"
"Li Xianzhong and his people have arrived at the gate!"
"At this time, he just issued a letter of war to you!"
A general handed over a letter.
Xu Xian, traitor, I, the Song Dynasty, treat you with great kindness and trust. I hope you can restore the Central Plains and drive out the Tartars. I didn't expect that you are so ambitious that you not only refuse to defend yourself, but also betray the Song Dynasty and claim to be emperor.
It is really the misfortune of our Song Dynasty and the misfortune of the world, so I, Li Xianzhong, have come to attack you and other rebels. If you know what you are doing, you can leave the border and surrender immediately, otherwise...!
So Xin Qiji quickly took the letter and read it for Xu Xian.
"What's behind?"
"Why doesn't the military advisor read it anymore?"
Seeing that Xin Qiji stopped reading for a while, Xu Xian asked.
"Your Majesty, the words that follow are so unpleasant that I...I can't even read them!"
Xin Qiji responded.
“Just read it, there’s no need to taboo so much!”
Of course Xu Xian also wanted to know how Li Xianzhong would scold him.
"Otherwise...otherwise I, Li Xianzhong, will seize Guangcheng Pass and pacify Luoyang. I will cut you...you and other rebellious ministers and traitors into pieces with thousands of cuts, cut open...belly...scrape...bones, and put...to death...
Serve as a warning to others!”
Xin Qiji thought.
"This Li Xianzhong seems to have a great hatred for me, Xu Xian!"
"You actually want to deal with me like this, Xu Xian, after you catch me!"
"How about this!"
"Please, the military advisor, please help me write a reply to that Li Xianzhong!"
Xu Xian then asked Xin Qiji to write a letter of challenge to Li Xianzhong.
Not far from Guangcheng Pass.
"Li Dutong!"
"At this time, the thief sent a reply!"
A general then handed a letter to Li Xianzhong.
The shame of Jingkang has not been over, why are we so anxious to fight against the same roots? He wanted to leave the Central Plains to fight against the Tartars, but Lord Huaisi has not yet left Huaisi to urge his return! I still remember that Yue Pengju was not willing to suffer all the injustice and bloodshed! The old feelings of the past have not been forgotten, and he retreated seven homes to wait for help.
Return, establish the capital in Luoyang and prosper the Han Dynasty. The sun and moon shine brightly on the Ming Dynasty!
After Li Xianzhong saw this so-called letter of challenge, he couldn't help but feel melancholy in his heart.