Xie Ai, who was standing on the high platform, saw that the defense line of the Yan army on the other side was really very strong, and the attack of the soldiers and horses under his command was greatly blocked, so he immediately ordered the attacking soldiers and horses under his command to withdraw to the camp.

Under Xie Ai's order, the main army of nearly 200,000 under his command immediately retreated and quickly returned to the camp.

"General, it seems that the Yan army can rely on the Yishui defense line to block the attack of our army with only 100,000 soldiers and horses!" After returning to the Chinese army's big tent, a general looked at Xie Ai and said loudly.

"Yes! General, I really didn't expect that after the army of Yan State had withdrawn tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, it still had such a strong defensive strength, if our army really launched a full-scale attack, the losses would be very huge, and it might not be able to break through the Yishui defense line in one fell swoop! Another general said loudly.

Obviously, after a round of head-to-head competition, the generals under Xie Ai have a clearer understanding of the defensive strength of the Yan army, and feel that after a round of dismantling, the combat effectiveness of the Yan army has not declined much, as if it has not been affected at all.

When Xie Ai heard this, he paused, and said with a straight face: "The tens of thousands of soldiers and horses that Murong Ke has withdrawn are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and the soldiers and horses that have been cut off only account for thirty percent of the total strength, so the impact on combat effectiveness is not great, Murong Ke must have considered the attack of our army as early as the time of the reduction of soldiers and horses, and for this reason, the soldiers and horses left behind are enough to resist the attack of our army, so it is still not easy for our army to break through the Yishui defense line." ”

"General, in this case, the Yan army's consumption of Yan's national strength will be greatly reduced, and the consumption of our army is still very huge, will our army also have to cut some soldiers and horses?" A subordinate general hurriedly asked.

"Yes! Checkmate. Our army only needs to leave 100,000 soldiers and horses to block the attack of Yan soldiers and horses on the south bank of Yishui. Another general said loudly.

Xie Ai hurriedly waved his hand, and said with a straight face: "No need, the reason why Murong Ke chose to lay off the soldiers and horses is mainly because the grain and grass in the Yan Kingdom are somewhat unavailable. Moreover, the reduction of soldiers and horses will greatly weaken our army's strategic deterrence against the Yan army, I am afraid that it will cause Murong Ke to continue to reduce the number of soldiers and horses, so our army's plan to continue to consume the national strength of the Yan State will completely fail. After speaking, he looked at his subordinates.

When the generals heard this, they felt that what Xie Ai said was very reasonable. So, they all nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, Xie Ai and his subordinates will continue to discuss how to effectively attack the Yishui defense line and cause strategic pressure on the Yan army with the maximum attrition.

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In the Yan army camp on the north bank of Yishui, Murong Ke, the main general of the Yan army, and his subordinates were greatly relieved, and after a night of bloody fighting, they finally repelled the attack of Xie Ai's army. And successfully held the Yishui defense line.

"General, it seems that our army has reduced tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. It didn't affect the strength of the army too much! In the battle tonight, the enemy was still repulsed by our troops. A subordinate general looked at Murong Ke and said loudly.

"Yes! General, the enemy's soldiers and horses are nearly twice as large as our army, but they are unable to break through the defense line set up by our army, which is enough to show that our army can hold the Yishui defense line. "Another general. Said happily.

In this night's fighting, the soldiers and horses of the Yan State relied on strong fortifications, and the loss of soldiers and horses was much less than that of the Xie Ai Army. They were all very excited.

All the generals were very excited, but Murong Ke, who was the main general, frowned deeply, in his opinion, Xie Ai's army did not try its best to attack, but only feints, so whether Xie Ai's army has the ability to break through the Yishui defense line, he is not clear, however, he is completely sure that the south bank of Yishui where Xie Ai's army is stationed is to greatly drag down the national strength of Yan State, so that Yan State's soldiers and horses are in a state of readiness for a long time, and he has just taken action to weaken the consumption of national strength, It immediately attracted a large-scale feint attack by Xie Ai's army, and Murong Ke felt that the large-scale attack launched by Xie Ai's army was not only a strategic temptation, wanting to see how much defense they still had in Yan Kingdom, but also the intention of warning and reminding them, so that they could not continue to reduce troops and horses, otherwise, the Yishui defense line might not be able to hold it.

"Generals, don't you see that the enemy's attack is a feint? If you attack with all your might, how can you just suffer a little setback and immediately retreat? Therefore, we must not take our guard lightly and must heighten our vigilance to prevent the enemy from attacking our army again. Murong Ke looked at his subordinate generals and said loudly.

"Yes, General." The generals hurriedly replied loudly.

Subsequently, Murong Ke and his subordinates would continue to study how to strengthen the fortifications of the Yishui defense line in order to maximize the fortification of the Yishui defense line.

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In the palace of King Yan in Jicheng, Murong Jun, King of Yan, was very bad in his heart, after half a year of fighting and confrontation, the national strength of Yan State can be said to have suffered huge losses, and now, the army in front has been urging grain and grass, and the official in charge of collecting grain and grass said that Yan Country has suffered from a locust plague, and it is really difficult to raise grain and grass, such a state makes Murong Jun very annoyed and helpless, after all, although he is the king of a country, but there is a lack of grain and grass in the country, he has no way at all, after all, he can't conjure up grain and grass out of thin air.

And if you spend money to buy it, it is also difficult to work, after all, food is a strategic resource, and the management of various countries is very strict, in this era of war, the management is even stricter, Murong Ke wants to spend money to buy military food, it is simply delusional, and hundreds of thousands of troops, the daily consumption of military food is very huge, with the property stored in the treasury of Yan State, it is difficult to buy a large amount of grain and grass needed on a large scale, so Murong Jun can no longer support the army of the current scale, In order to maintain the normal order of the Great Yan Kingdom, it is necessary to immediately dismiss the soldiers and horses and the officials of the court.

The army in front is facing tremendous pressure, and Murong Jun naturally does not dare to dismiss them at will, but some domestic officials, big and small, can be dismissed, especially some idle people who do nothing, are the priority targets of retrenchment.

However, the dismissal of domestic officials will inevitably arouse the opposition of some vested interests, so it must be carried out cautiously, and in order to make things move forward smoothly, Murong Jun summoned all his confidants and courtiers and asked them to come to the palace hall to discuss how to carry out the action of reducing troops and horses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now, my Dayan Kingdom is facing tremendous pressure, the treasury has become increasingly empty, in order to reduce the expenditure of the treasury, this king intends to lay off some officials to reduce the pressure on the treasury, what do you think Aiqing?" Murong Jun looked at the courtiers under his command and said out loud his idea of dismissing officials.

When the courtiers heard this, they were slightly surprised, if they really wanted to dismiss officials, it would definitely arouse the opposition of many officials who had been dismissed, after all, those who could become officials were powerful figures, and if they did not make trouble, it would cause great turmoil in the country.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter is inappropriate! If the DPRK and China officials are dismissed rashly for unfounded reasons, it will certainly arouse great dissatisfaction, and if it is clearly stated that the treasury is empty, it will easily cause panic in the government and the public, and it is even more undesirable. A minister clenched his fists in disagreement.

"Yes! Your Majesty, officials are the foundation of the country, how can they be dismissed at will, and please think twice. Another minister objected with his fists clenched.

Obviously, most of the ministers of the Yan State opposed Murong Jun's dismissal of officials, and believed that once such an action was taken, it would cause turmoil in the government and the opposition.

Murong Jun didn't expect that all the courtiers under his command were all against him, and for this reason, he was very dissatisfied, but what these courtiers said was the truth, if the officials were dismissed for unwarranted reasons, it would definitely cause great dissatisfaction among these officials, after all, many officials were a big family with their families, if they were dismissed, there would be no source of income, so that everyone in the family would have to starve, after all, once the officials were abandoned by the court, they would have no other ability to make a living at all, and they would probably be starved to death. and dragged down the whole family, and they all starved to death.

"Now that the treasury is becoming more and more empty, this king is also forced to do so! If you have a better idea, you might as well talk about it. Murong Ke looked at the courtiers under his command and asked.

The ministers of the Yan Kingdom glanced at each other, most of them were dazed and helpless in their eyes, obviously, they had no better solution.

"Your Majesty, the treasury of my Great Yan Kingdom is completely because of the emptiness caused by the perennial war, and only a few officials are cut in the bucket, if you want to completely solve the problem of the emptiness of the treasury, the only way to stop the war immediately and negotiate peace with the enemy army." A minister, bold, clenched his fists and said.

"Yes! Your Majesty, most of the emptiness of the treasury is consumed by the great army, and if the emptiness of the treasury is to be completely resolved, the conquest must be stopped immediately and the army must be dismantled. Another minister, said loudly.

Obviously, these two ministers are telling the truth, the national strength of Yan is completely consumed by the huge army, and only by reducing the army on a large scale can the problem of the empty treasury be fundamentally solved, and there is no better way than that.

Murong Jun naturally understands this truth, but now the Xie Ai Legion and the Wang Wu Legion are pressing step by step, which has caused great strategic pressure on the Great Yan Kingdom, if the troops and horses are withdrawn, the enemy army will drive straight in, so as to capture the land of the Yan State, in this way, the Great Yan Kingdom will face the danger of losing the country, for this reason, Murong Jun does not dare to withdraw the army at will.

"The enemy army is pressing forward step by step, how can the army be cut off at will." Murong Jun frowned and said loudly. (To be continued......)