As soon as Yang Yan heard this, he knew that his idea of returning to Lin'an Mansion after handing over the errand was in vain. However, the situation is indeed very critical. The power of Manichaeism is getting bigger and bigger, not only Fan Chengda, but also Yu Yunwen, who is probably the prime minister, has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and he really can't stand by and watch, so he has to say: "Lord Fan is serious, I must do my best in the future." ”

Fan Cheng was busy and asked someone to invite Qi Fang, and Wu Gong, who was sick, heard the news and also rushed to discuss how to deal with the Manichaean army.

Yang Yan inquired about the current situation in detail, and then learned that although the Song army lost six states some time ago, most of the reason was because after Wu Gong fell ill, the defenders of all roads were unstable and did not dare to fight. However, although the Song army lost ground this time, the loss of military strength was not large, and some troops were not even injured. At present, Jingjiang Prefecture has more than 20,000 troops in its possession, and nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses in the prefectures of Guangxi, no less than 60,000 in total.

However, since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, it has always held the principle of separating strong cadres and weak branches, unless it is a garrison on the border, and there is no less combat effectiveness than the forbidden army, and the combat effectiveness of the armies in other places is really limited, and many of them are still eliminated from the forbidden army, many of them are weak and sick, and there are many veterans who take the army's salary to mess around, this group of soldiers can bully the local people, once they start a war, they do not dare to contact the enemy army at all, they will only flee. The fact that Manichaeism was able to sweep Quang Nam in a matter of months was not unrelated to the unfavorable resistance of the local army.

In addition, the Song Dynasty has always been lenient in the punishment of officials, and generals who abandon the city and flee are generally punished with demotion, and sometimes even not pursued at all. In this way, this kind of atmosphere has also been invisibly promoted, and the army has no fighting spirit and will have no fighting spirit.

Although Yang Yan is not very old, he has also been in the army for more than four years, and most of the time he is still a middle- and lower-level soldier, so he also knows a little about this situation. After thinking about it, he said to Fan Chengdao: "Lord Zhizhi, with all due respect, if the army still runs away as soon as it encounters the Manichaean army, then even if Yue Wumu comes, there is no way." ”

Wu Gong coughed twice, and then said: "Zihao is right, the top priority is to severely punish a few generals who took the lead in escaping, and finally to behead a few to warn the whole army." Then you can tell you how to defend Jingjiang Mansion. ”

Fan Chengda nodded and said, "Okay, tomorrow I will order to severely punish a few generals who took the lead in escaping, but should they be beheaded?" The Song Dynasty has always taken "not killing ministers and those who speak things" as the ancestral motto, that is, more emphasis on literature and military suppression, but rarely kill military attachés, so Fan Chengda was a little hesitant.

Wu Gong said: "Lord Fan, this is an extraordinary time, and the army must be governed with heavy punishments, and not killing a few people is not enough to deter the whole army." You can find one or two people who behave the worst to behead them, and they will be signed by Zai Xia and adults, and they will also give an account to the court. ”

Fan Chengda thought about it for a while, finally nodded, and said, "Okay, then it's decided." ”

At this time, Zhou Xin ran in in a panic and said, "Lord Fan, there is news that the Manichaean thief Zhong Shi is gathering men and horses in Rongzhou and preparing to attack Jingjiang Mansion, please make arrangements as soon as possible." ”

It turned out that Zhong Shi took advantage of Wu Gong's illness and after capturing six states in a row, he not only expanded his territory, but also obtained a large amount of food and various materials. This also made the current shortage of food and the shortage of food in the Manichaean army have been completely solved, not only to supply Zhong Ziyu to attack Yongzhou, but also to send a large army to attack Jingjiang Mansion. However, after the capture of Hengshan, there was no danger to defend in the Yongzhou area, so Zhong Ziang also sent Zhao Cao and Lai Wenzheng to lead 10,000 horses to support Zhongshi in attacking Jingjing Mansion.

Jingjiang Mansion is the mansion of Guangnan West Road, and taking Jingjiang Mansion can basically be regarded as a firm foothold in Guangxi, laying the foundation for the next expansion.

After Fan Chengda received the report, he was discolored, and hurriedly asked: "Now that the Manichaean army is attacking Jingjiang Mansion again, how do you think about the defense?" ”

Yang Yan said at this time: "Although Lord Fan is relieved, in fact, it is not a problem to play the soldiers who are willing to fight hard, and it is not a problem to hold the six state capitals of the goal." Then he recounted how he had guarded the mountain. Said: "Don't look at the large number of Manichaeans now, the momentum is flourishing, but they are eventually rogues, and their ability to attack the city is very limited, with the ability to defend the city and assemble the city of my Great Song army, as long as they are well prepared and fight hard, any city Manichaean army will not be able to attack." ”

After listening to him, Fan Chengda breathed a sigh of relief, and Wu Gong and Qi Fang both nodded yes. However, Yang Yan explained the reason for giving up Hengshan Qi, and begged Fan Chengda not to pursue Dong Yuan's dereliction of duty. This little thing, Fan Cheng naturally agreed.

Wu Gong said: "I am sick, only General Lao Qi and Zihao led the army to garrison Renxiu County to resist the Manichaean army. "Renxiu County is a central county under the jurisdiction of Jingjiang Prefecture, and it is the only place to attack Jingjiang Prefecture.

Yang Yan said: "This time stationed in Renxiu County, as long as the local soldiers are willing to fight hard, in my opinion, not only can they hold the Jingjing Mansion, but also may defeat the Manichaean army and recover Xiangzhou, Xunzhou and other places." Fan Chengda was stunned when he heard this, in his opinion, it would be good to be able to hold Jingjiang Mansion in such a situation now, and what did he hope to recover Xiangzhou and other places.

However, Wu Gong asked, "Does Zihao have any good plans?" ”

Yang Yan smiled slightly, and said: "It's not a good strategy, as long as we hold the city steadily, we can also send a small number of light cavalry on the other hand, take the initiative to attack, and constantly harass the rear and relief of the Manichaean army, after a long time, the Manichaean army will be exempted from the veterans, and the morale will be low." At that time, our army will look for an opportunity to attack with all its might, and not only will we be able to defeat the Manichaean army in one fell swoop, but we may also be able to recover some places. ”

Wu Gong's eyes lit up when he heard this, he was a person who was proficient in the art of war, and in fact, he had not thought of such tactics. It's just that the whole of Quang Nam can't find a person who can command the cavalry army well. Now when I heard Yang Yan say this, I suddenly thought, isn't Yang Yan the most suitable person to implement this tactic? Although his Hua Ji is not big, in terms of the ability to command cavalry, it is second to none in the entire Great Song Dynasty. So he said: "Zihao, are you willing to take on this heavy responsibility?" ”

Sure enough, Yang Yan said: "I am not a good material, if I am appointed, I will take on this position." ”

When Wu Gong heard this, he was very happy in his heart, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The country has raised soldiers for more than ten years, but in the end, it is not embarrassing for my generation to rely on a junior like you to take on such a heavy responsibility." Wu Gong's father, Wu Jue and Yang Yizhong, were ministers of the same palace, and all the generals had worshipped, Wu Jue ranked fifth, and Yang Yizhong ranked tenth. In this way, Wu Gong is the elder Yang Yan's generation, so he regards Yang Yan as a junior and does not underestimate him.

Fan Chengda listened to what they said just now, and only then did he know that what Yang Yan said was not completely false, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed in his heart, and said: "Then it's not too late, and I will go to Renxiu tomorrow." ”

The next day, Fan Chengda really began to reorganize the army, and beheaded Liu Ming'an, the governor of Tengzhou, who took the lead in escaping, and Li Yi, the regimental training envoy, and 12 subordinates and subordinates, and then dismissed Zhu Gong, the regimental training envoy of Xiangzhou, and Liu Yong, the commander of the Bingzhou Soldiers and Horses, and 18 other officials, and strictly stated that those who were unfavorable in the battle and escaped from the battle would be severely punished. At this moment, the whole army was shocked, and they no longer dared to fight.

Then Fan Chengda ordered the troops, led by Qi Fang and Yang Yan, to lead the four armies of the infantry division in the front, rear, left and right, totaling more than 16,000 people, including more than 2,000 cavalry, plus 5,000 local troops in Guangnan to go to Renxiu County. Only the Chinese army of the Infantry Division was left to defend Jingjiang Mansion. The generals who accompanied the army included Zhang Qi, the commander of the front army of the Infantry Army, Cao Zhengshan, the commander of the left army, Yin Shibiao, the commander of the right army, Wang Guan, the commander of the right army, and two regimental exercises of Guangnan.

The city wall of Renxiu County is not too tall, basically below three zhang, there are four gates, but compared with Hengshan, there is a Hucheng River that leads to the water of Luoqing River. It forms a natural barrier.

After arriving in Renxiu County, Qi Fang sent spies to investigate the movements of the Manichaean army, mobilized manpower to repair and strengthen the city wall, and widened the moat in Jiachen, preparing to defend the city and evacuate the people. Yang Yan led all the more than 2,000 cavalry out of the city to familiarize himself with the terrain within a radius of 100 miles from Renxiu County. In addition, eight hidden elbow settlements were set up within a radius of 100 miles from Renxiu County, and some grain and weapons were stored in each stronghold. In order not to go back to the city, there are also places outside the city to repair and repair.

The more than 2,000 cavalry troops are all men and horses of the infantry division, and although the quality is still not as good as the original Yang Yan led by the selection army, the combat effectiveness is also considerable, and it is much stronger than the rabble in Hengshan. And the assembly is also very complete, most of the wounded people are equipped with a special angle bow for horses. Before leaving, Wu Gong saw that Yang Yan did not have a bow to fit his hands, and even handed over a lacquered wooden bow he used to Yang Yan to use. Although this bow is still not as good as Yang Yan's Thrilling Bow, the pulling force has also reached one stone and four buckets, and the range is about one hundred and fifty steps, which is exactly what Yang Yan needs.

Various utensils and materials were also transported from Jingjiang Prefecture to Lingxiu County, including ten bed crossbows and twenty trebuchets and other large fortress defense equipment. Qi Fang fixed them one by one on the right city wall,

At this time, Zhong Shi, Zhao Cao, and Lai Wenzheng also gathered an army of 80,000 and killed Renxiu County.