Although Li Jinzhong shot Yang Qingshan away, what happened at the city gate still spread to Chengdu.
It only took half a day for the news to spread among the dignitaries in the city, and there was a lot of discussion about it in the city.
Li Jinzhong didn't care about the opinions of ordinary people and soldiers, but the change of attitude of these powerful people in the city made him dare not take it lightly.
It is true that Li Jinzhong is the "military leader", but the position under his buttocks is also supported by the people below him.
It was a hundred years since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, and the governors of various places had also moved away for a hundred years. The internal relations were so complicated that even Li Jinzhong had to deal with them carefully.
So at noon that day, he summoned the officers of thousands of households and above, as well as the civilian officials of fifth rank and above in Chengdu.
Inside and outside the meeting hall, there were seventy or eighty people crowded together, and everyone was talking loudly, making the place extremely noisy.
"Let the adults arrive!"
"Let the adults arrive!"
The soldier shouted twice at the top of his lungs before the scene gradually became quiet, and everyone's eyes glanced outside.
"What are you arguing about?" Li Jinzhong said with a cold face.
Beside him was Shannan's envoy Wang Baozhen.
"That kid Zhao Yanxun sent a poor and rotten scholar to say some nonsense and make you anxious and angry?"
"Damn it, the war hasn't even started yet, and you are all so cowardly?"
After scolding like this and seeing no one say a word, Li Jinzhong stepped into the courtyard.
"When things have reached this point, we have no way back. If we surrender out of the city, we will die. Don't you understand?"
"How many people did King Yong kill in the capital, how many noble titles were removed, how many officials were dismissed...have you forgotten?"
"How dare you put your life and property in the hands of such a violent person?"
Many times, no matter how the truth is explained, the final truth comes down to whose voice is louder.
Right now, Li Jinzhong's voice is very loud.
After hearing his statement, I was already shaken. Now in order to protect myself and my family, I can only fight to the end with Zhao Yanxun.
"You don't have to worry too much. We are not fighting alone. King Ning has united the five southern counties and wants to send troops to reinforce our army!"
"Yang Hongwen of Lingbei Dusi has led his 30,000 troops northward, and King Ning will send additional reinforcements later..."
Li Jinzhong lied here. Yang Hongwen only brought 10,000 regular troops to the north, and the other 20,000 were civilians transporting supplies.
And these 10,000 people were selected from the short ones among the only 30,000 troops left in Lingbei Dusi.
As for the follow-up increase of troops, it was just a word from King Ning. There were so many difficulties in realizing it.
"Everyone, what we have to do is not to defeat Yong's army, but to defend the city..."
When he reached the steps, Li Jinzhong looked around at everyone and said: "As long as we last three to five months, even if the reinforcements from the south don't come, Yong's army probably won't be able to afford it!"
In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Li Jinzhong also tried his best.
In fact, he is the most worried one.
Even though he would say harsh words, when he thought of the hundreds of thousands of imperial troops who were all defeated by Yong's army, he felt despair in his heart.
When he is convincing his subordinates, he is also convincing himself.
"Everyone, we will definitely win!"
After making an impassioned speech and seeing his subordinates "settling down", Li Jinzhong breathed a sigh of relief.
After another arrangement, Li Jinzhong dismissed his men.
In the courtyard, only two of them were left.
"We have to consider our retreat!" Wang Baozhen looked serious.
"Do you think we will lose?"
"I see no hope of winning!"
"Then you should have stopped me just now, don't let me shoot that arrow!" Gu
"The crowd is so excited, how can I stop you!"
Sighing, Li Jinzhong said helplessly: "The matter has come to this, and it is useless to say more. We can only defend the city and wait for the situation to change!"
In fact, reaching this point in a daze is an inevitable result of human greed.
At first, Li Jinzhong wanted benefits, then he was unwilling to give up the power in his hands, and finally embarked on the current path of no return.
But now, he can only go one way to the end.
…………
"Civil and military officials of the fifth rank or above in the two counties can avoid the death penalty if they take off their official robes and go out of the city to plead guilty!"
"Did you hear that correctly?" Yang Hongwen was surprised.
In front of him, a big man respectfully replied: "Sir, the envoy sent by King Yong spoke clearly, and I heard him clearly!"
Stroking his beard, Yang Hongwen couldn't help but say: "This King Yong... is really crazy!"
Yang Hongwen also saw that Zhao Yanxun had no intention of getting Li Jinzhong to agree to the conditions proposed by Zhao Yanxun.
The purpose of sending someone to pass the imperial edict was more of a humiliation to people like Li Jinzhong, provided that Yong's army agreed to this battle.
As for whether Yong Jun could agree, Yang Hongwen couldn't tell.
There are various rumors about the tyranny of Yong's army, but Yang Hongwen always feels that it is too exaggerated and false, because there has never been such an army since ancient times.
The imperial court's hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated. In Yang Hongwen's opinion, in addition to the Yong army's tyranny, the main reason was internal fighting among the imperial army.
People can only make judgments within the scope of their cognition, and this is true for both Yang Hongwen and the people in the southern counties, so they all have the same unrealistic illusions as Li Jinzhong.
At this time, Yang Hongwen asked: "Where is the main force of Yong's army now?"
"We have passed Shan'an County and are only one hundred and fifty miles away from Rongcheng!"
Picking up the helmet on the side, Yang Hongwen frowned and said: "So, in two or three days at most, Yong's army will answer the question of Rongcheng!"
Speaking of this, Yang Hongwen couldn't help but sneer: "This man surnamed Li is also ruthless. He emptied the treasury along the way to Sichuan and plundered the people's food. I'm afraid many people will starve to death again!"
"The monsters in his southwest area have not yet been wiped out. Now that he has taken away the elites of the two counties, I am afraid that if Rongcheng is defended... these two counties will be finished!"
The hungry people in the two counties can easily be bitten to death by zombies, and then turn into new zombies to bite people.
Yang Hongwen's analysis is really not alarmist, but something that is very likely to happen.
Just as the scouts were asked to retreat, someone came galloping towards them, coming from the southeast.
"Sir, His Highness Prince Ning has led a total of 50,000 troops from two counties in Jiangxi and Nanhai to the north!"
Hearing the news from this person, Yang Hongwen squinted and said, "Can they gather an army of 50,000? Tell me honestly how many people there are?"
The visitor looked a little embarrassed, but still replied: "There are 20,000 regular troops and 30,000 civilians!"
"That's right. Although these two counties have a large number of troops combined, they still have to guard against the Yong Army in Jiangbei. How dare they all be transferred to the western front!"
Then Yang Hongwen asked again: "Prince Ning is here too?"
"Exactly!"
After swatting away the messenger, Yang Hongwen frowned and said, "He doesn't know the military, but he personally led the army north. I'm afraid he doesn't want military power!"
Yang Hongwen seemed particularly alert to Prince Ning's random "reaching out".
No matter what the two Jiangxi Nanhai think, he will never let anyone get involved in his military power, even if this person is the nominal co-owner of the five southern counties.
"Command the army to hurry up as soon as possible. They must rush to the south bank of the river before tomorrow!"
Yong's army has almost arrived at Rongcheng. If they don't hurry up, they won't be able to support them at all.
Of course, in order to preserve his own strength, Yang Hongwen would not cross the river casually.
Even if he had to cross the river, he should unite with the reinforcements coming from behind. He was not in a hurry about this anyway.
In these troubled times, having soldiers in hand is the capital of a stable life, and Yang Hongwen does not dare to squander it casually.
