Chapter 580: The Endgame

"General Yang."

"General Mo."

In Jin City, after the decision was made to no longer pursue the Northern Di army, Mo Yu led his soldiers into Jin City.

With the Ningjin Dusi reclaimed, Yanguan would no longer be the first line of defense against the Northern Di.

In the future, there would be no need to station a large number of troops there.

Therefore, in his view, Jin City might be the next location for him to garrison.

There was no need to rush to lead the troops he brought this time back.

He could simply wait quietly for the orders of Yan Wang.

"It is a pity. The soldiers of the Ningjin Army were bursting with rage, wanting to fight the Northern Di. I did not expect that before we could even act, General Mo and General Qin had already defeated them," Yang Zhen laughed.

Being flattered by Yang Zhen, Mo Yu felt somewhat embarrassed.

He knew Yang Zhen.

The relationship between the Mo Family and the Yang Family had always been good.

When he was a child, his father often associated with Yang Zhen.

And every time, he would call him Uncle Yang.

Now, this general who was famous throughout Great Song was acting like his subordinate, so he naturally felt strange.

However, although he wanted to call him Uncle Yang,

he knew that it was currently a time of war, and it would be inappropriate to do so in front of many generals.

Thus, he said, "The Northern Di have not been wiped out, they have only fled. They will surely return in the future, and by then, the Ningjin Army will have a chance for revenge."

Yang Zhen noticed Mo Yu's attitude of wanting to be close yet feeling reserved. He smiled slightly and said, "That is correct. At that time, I only hope Your Highness will allow our Ningjin Army to serve as the vanguard."

The two spoke as they arrived at the residence where Mule Hongzhen had stayed in Jin City.

Mo Yu said, "Although the Northern Di have retreated north, there are still three county towns to the north. We should take them over immediately, clear out the remaining Northern Di remnants in the cities, and save the lives of our Great Song people."

"General Mo is absolutely right."

Yang Zhen said. He understood the nature of the Northern Di better than anyone, so he added, "General Mo, our Ningjin Army has not had enough of a fight yet. Why not leave this matter to the Ningjin Army to practice with?"

"Since that is the case, I will not contend for it," Mo Yu chuckled.

Since Yang Zhen had spoken, he found it difficult to refuse.

Having settled this matter, Yang Zhen immediately summoned two of his Captains and ordered them to march north at once to take the three county towns to the north.

Meanwhile, Mo Yu sent someone to deliver the news of the Northern Di's retreat to Chrysanthemum Island.

In just half a day, the news reached the hands of Chang Wei.

After reading the battle report sent by Mo Yu from top to bottom twice, he laughed heartily.

In this Ningjin Battle, Yan Wang remained in Yancheng and handed all military affairs over to him.

This put him under great pressure.

After all, he held ninety percent of the troops of Yanzhou; if they suffered a crushing defeat, Yanzhou would never recover.

Now that the Northern Di had suffered a major setback and Mule Hongzhen had fled north with injuries, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go, send this news to His Highness immediately," Chang Wei said to the soldier beside him.

This was his personal guard.

Infected by Chang Wei's mood, the soldier was grinning.

After acknowledging the order, he turned and walked away.

Before he had taken many steps, Chang Wei suddenly called him back and instructed, "Remember, once you reach Leting County, you must shout this news all the way on your road to Yancheng, so that everyone can share in the joy."

"Yes, General." The soldier acknowledged again and strode away.

As the soldier's figure disappeared, Chang Wei slapped the table in excitement and prepared to set off for the Ningjin Dusi.

It had been over ten years; ever since the Ningjin Dusi was conquered, the soldiers of Great Song had not set foot on this ancestral land again.

Now, he was going to Jin City in person, and then go to Ning City for a visit.

After stepping out the door, he had someone go find Zhou Yi.

Wasn't he going to visit Ning City?

Now he could.

Jiyang County.

While Chang Wei was heading toward the Ningjin Dusi, the final battle was still taking place here.

At this moment, Zhong Li was leading the Cavalry, charging back and forth through the streets of the county town, cutting down Northern Di cavalrymen one by one.

He was reclaiming the county town under the orders of Qin Shan.

Just as he arrived, he saw Northern Di soldiers slaughtering the slaves in the county town.

The streets were filled with the corpses of slaves.

However, what comforted him was that the slaves in the county town did not seem to be waiting for death with their necks bared; instead, they were holding Explosive Sticks, stones, and anything else that could serve as a Weapon to fight the Northern Di soldiers.

Seeing this, he immediately charged over and killed three or four hundred Northern Di soldiers.

"Are you the troops of Yan Wang?" As the last Northern Di soldier fell, the slaves looked toward Zhong Li and his group.

When the Northern Di herdsmen and merchants in the county town were busy packing their things, they knew that something major had happened at the Ningjin Dusi.

Combined with the leaflets from some time ago, they had even more of a vague guess.

And when large numbers of Northern Di fled the county town, and the five hundred or so Northern Di soldiers guarding the town turned their slaughter toward them, they decided to resist.

If Yan Wang really did come, they did not want to die on the eve of victory.

Therefore, even if they were to die, they would fight for it.

Facts proved that their choice was correct.

"That's right, we are the Prince's Personal Army under Yan Wang; from today on, you will no longer be enslaved by the Northern Di people," Zhong Li said decisively.

What on earth had these Great Song commoners standing before him experienced?

Each of them looked as if they were merely a layer of skin stretched over a skeleton; a gust of wind could blow them over.

Most of them had no clothes on their upper bodies, and their trousers were also tattered, revealing legs like dry firewood.

Only a pair of cowering yet hopeful eyes made them look like human beings.

"It really is Yan Wang's troops!"

"We are saved."

"The paper didn't lie to us; thirteen years, it's been thirteen years, the Northern Di people have finally been driven away."

"..."

The slaves' faces were filled with excitement, and then they sobbed into a chorus of weeping.

Walking toward the Wangfu Army soldiers, they grabbed the soldiers' hands and hugged them tightly, as if afraid they would run away.

The soldiers did not despise these filthy slaves.

Some soldiers were even wiping away tears.

Many of them had migrated from Ningjin Dusi to Yanzhou.

Seeing them was as intimate as seeing long-lost neighbors.

"Fellow countrymen, we still have to go to the next county town and cannot stay here too long," Zhong Li said, suddenly realizing something while immersed in the moment.

Although they had divided their forces to head to their respective county towns when they set out.

To ensure nothing went wrong, they had to head to the next county town immediately after stabilizing one.

Upon hearing this, the slaves, though reluctant, let go one after another and cleared the path.

Zhong Li nodded, left behind over a hundred soldiers to maintain order, and led the rest toward the next county town.

In over two days, they successively controlled seven county towns around Ning City and then headed toward Jin City.

Only after learning that the Ningjin Army had taken the other county towns did they stop.

And while they were liberating the county towns of Ningjin Dusi, the personal guard sent by Chang Wei traveled all the way from Leting to Yanguan.

Following Chang Wei's instructions, he announced the news of the great victory at Ningjin to everyone he met.

After another day or so, he rode his horse, shouting "Great victory at Ningjin, Ningjin is recovered" all the way into Yancheng, until he reached the Prince's Mansion.