From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 972

The army marched quickly, but time was still too late.

On the fifth day after Zhou Yuan led the army south, the intelligence from the divine bird had already arrived.

"Jin Zhentang led 40,000 elite soldiers and civil and military officials, dragged their families and abandoned the city, heading straight for Huaiyang."

"The island bandits quickly entered Seoul and took control of the surrounding cities, including Yangping, Wenshan and Kaesong."

"Fortifications were being built between the four cities, and 30,000 island bandits gathered to deploy defenses and set up a large number of artillery."

"They blocked the city gates and were ready to hold out for a long time."

Hearing these words, Li Yu'an stood up in anger and shouted, "Jin Zhentang is so shameless! He is the eternal sinner of Goryeo!"

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "There is no other way at the moment. We can't give the island bandits too much time. We have to take Kaesong and Wenshan directly and break their defenses. ties."

Li Yu'an said: "Take back Seoul, and immediately deal with Jin Zhentang. I want to kill him with my own hands!"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Don't be excited, Virgin Sister. We still need to stay calm now, because the latest intelligence shows that there are still some island pirates lurking in Haizhou. The number is not large, about 2,000, but their position is very delicate, and they may attack from behind at any time."

"I don't know their equipment yet. How are the 2,000 elite musketeers? Even if their muskets are backward, they will cause us trouble."

"We must deal with them first!"

Li Yu'an was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "Haizhou?"

She immediately remembered the scene she and her sister saw at the beginning, and her face turned pale for a while.

He clenched his fists slowly, gnashing his teeth and saying, "I want to go myself! I want to kill myself!"

Zhou Yuan said, "No need! I'll let Dayong go!"

"Eight hundred elite soldiers are enough for them to kill them all!"

Li Yu'an pouted and said, "Don't think I really don't know anything. The eight hundred elite soldiers are used to attack the city."

"The cannons will blast open the city gates, and the elite soldiers will launch the first wave of charge. They are covered in armor and are invulnerable to swords and guns. They can break the opponent's defense line in the first place and avoid casualties of subsequent troops."

"If they go to Haizhou, the casualties of Yongxiao Camp and Wuyao Camp will increase a lot."

At this point, she lowered her head and whispered, "You helped me restore the country, but I can't let your brothers sacrifice in vain."

Zhou Yuan shook his head , said solemnly: "There will be casualties in war. We can only seek the best solution. Moreover, this war is inevitable. It is not up to you to say no to the war. This is also in the interests of Dajin."

"Even without you, Dajin will still fight this war and there will still be sacrifices."

Li Yu'an whispered: "I have been to Haizhou before you came."

"I have seen the tragic situation there. I want to take revenge in person."

"I must go!"

Zhou Yuan stood up and shouted: "Come here! Call Guan Dayong!"

Soon Guan Dayong ran in and glared: "Boss! What do you want to talk to me about!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the snacks on the table, stuffed two into his pocket, and then took two more and stuffed them into his mouth.

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Stop eating! Immediately gather 800 warriors from the elite camp, take off their heavy armor, wear only light armor, mount their horses lightly, and rush to Haizhou to kill the island bandits."

Seeing Zhou Yuan's serious expression, Guan Dayong also hurriedly said: "I understand! Act now!"

Zhou Yuan said: "I'll give you two quarters of an hour to get ready. I want to go too!"

Li Yu'an said with a change of color: "No, you are the commander-in-chief, you have to stay..."

Zhou Yuan interrupted: "We only have 800 people, we will set off lightly and solve the island bandits. Kou rushed back immediately, and it was in time. "

"Song Wu's 20,000 men, dragging Portuguese cannons and walking, are not as fast as us."

"I'll go with you."

Li Yu'an lowered her head and pouted, saying, "I'll go by myself."

Zhou Yuan said, "I'm worried, I'll go with you."

"But..."

"We've never been apart, haven't we?"

Hearing this, Li Yu'an didn't refute, but turned her head to one side, her eyes red.

Zhou Yuan looked at Guan Dayong, who was grinning, and glared, "What are you doing!"

Guan Dayong laughed and said, "Sister-in-law is crying."

"Then why don't you get out of here!"

Zhou Yuan kicked him.

Guan Dayong scratched his head and ran away, and took the plate of snacks away.

"Damn, this kid looks hungry."

Zhou Yuan smiled and walked behind Li Yu'an, gently pressed her trembling shoulders, and whispered: "What's wrong? Why are you crying over such a small thing?"

Li Yu'an turned around and threw herself into his arms, burying her head in his chest, she sobbed, "I feel sad."

Zhou Yuan said: "WhyWhat happened?"

Li Yu'an said: "I know that you are very serious about war. If it weren't for me, your efficiency would not be so low."

"You will kill as many people as possible and knock them all out as quickly as possible, so that they can't turn over."

"If it weren't for helping me accumulate wealth, you should have fought very easily and wouldn't be so stretched as you are now."

"You won't even care about Seoul. You will first do your best to clean up Haizhou, and then slowly go to Seoul to find a way to defeat the island pirates at the lowest cost."

"For me, you compromised a lot in tactics."

Zhou Yuan was silent.

Li Yu'an raised her head, tears streaming down her face. She choked and said: "But Haizhou... I have seen what it looks like there. There are broken corpses everywhere. The crimes they committed can't help but make people angry. I must go for revenge."

Zhou Yuan thought for a while, and then said: "I'm not here to comfort you, I'm telling you a few truths. ”

“First, I know the viciousness and cruelty of the island bandits, and I will always be angry about it.”

“Second, I brought my troops here not to kill, not to defeat everyone, to show our strength. What I hope is to establish a rule here, hope that there will be peace here, so that the border of Dajin will also be stable, which is in the interests of Dajin.”

“Third, I am very sad about the sacrifice of Dajin soldiers, and I am definitely not a person who takes their lives to talk about love. The decision I made is for the overall situation. Annihilating the Haizhou island bandits is part of the overall situation.”

“Fourth, I want to save the innocent people of Goryeo, not only because they are your people, but also because they are human beings. To the extent possible, try to save innocent people. This is because of kindness, and no other reasons are needed.”

“Dajin has been doing things this way for thousands of years, and our nation has always been kind throughout the ages. My decision will not be considered problematic by the eldest sister, and the people will not be considered problematic either. "

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan held her hand and said solemnly: "There is only one thing that has changed for you, that is, I can not go, but I insist on accompanying you."

"Just like you have always insisted on accompanying me."

Li Yu'an hugged him tightly, she was speechless, they rarely said such heartfelt words to each other, because everything was implied.

This time Zhou Yuan said so much because he could see that she had a lot of pressure in her heart.

Li Yu'an also knew that they knew each other too well.

So at this moment, just hugging, they were already satisfied enough.