In the Xia Army's central tent, Dou Jiande was strategizing and commanding with an air of certain victory.

"Report! Lord Xia, our vanguard has made contact with the Zheng Army as expected. The Zheng Army was indeed ambushing up ahead, and a battle has ensued!"

Dou Jiande laughed heartily and suddenly stood up. "Good! Send reinforcements immediately! With the Zheng Army's morale low, a spirited charge from our troops should guarantee victory!"

"Report! Lord Xia, the enemy fights fiercely, and the situation has reached a deadlock!"

Dou Jiande was not at all flustered. "No matter! Order them to fight to the death!"

"Report! Lord Xia, the frontline battle is intense. Should we have General Cheng and General Qin send their troops to support?"

Hearing the latest battle report, Dou Jiande hesitated briefly.

He looked at Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao, who were beside him.

After Li Mi's defeat and demise, they had fled to his side for a simple reason: they disdained Wang Shichong.

Dou Jiande was generous in keeping talented individuals, so he naturally trusted these two brave generals. He not only retained their original troops but also kept them by his side as a core reserve force.

Now, with the battle situation critical, if these two men's elite cavalry were to join the fight, the tide would surely turn instantly.

"What do you two generals think?" Dou Jiande clearly intended for them to attack, but he still symbolically sought their opinions.

Li Hongyun, acting as Cheng Zhijie, and Yun Ying, acting as Qin Shubao, exchanged glances.

After a moment of thought, Yun Ying said, "My lord, I think the reserve force should not move."

Dou Jiande was a bit surprised. "Oh? Does General Qin believe that our victory is assured?"

The current frontline situation was tense, and it was hard to predict who would win or lose.

Yun Ying said, "We must be wary of Meng Haigong. Moreover, Wang Shichong's rear is also unstable. Perhaps waiting a bit longer could lead to unforeseen developments."

Yun Ying and Li Hongyun obviously could not attack Wang Shichong.

They were supposed to be spies; how could they continue as spies if they went out to fight?

Of course, Wang Shichong thought they were his spies, but in reality, they were spies for Liang.

The reasons Yun Ying and Li Hongyun provided were twofold: they still needed to guard against Meng Haigong's troops, and they believed the frontline could win without their involvement.

Dou Jiande frowned slightly, evidently skeptical.

Their reasons were barely acceptable but not convincing.

In Dou Jiande's view, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao were defectors, and Wang Shichong was clearly their adversary.

Previously in battle, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao had indeed shown bravery and earned some military achievements.

But now, when it came to a decisive battle, why were they not willing to fight?

Logically, as defectors, they should be more eager to seek battle now, hoping to secure achievements and establish themselves in the new ranks of Xia Country.

This behavior... was somewhat abnormal.

Li Hongyun noticed Dou Jiande's doubts and quickly said, "My lord, we, of course, wish to earn achievements. If you wish us to fight, we will immediately go into battle and slay the enemy without hesitation.

"However, with the situation critical, if we join the battle now, although a victory could be glorious, Wang Shichong would surely retreat in fear, perhaps preventing us from fully exploiting the battle.

"If we maintain the deadlock for a while longer and wait for turmoil within Wang Shichong's troops, then our decisive attack will surely yield the greatest results."

Dou Jiande nodded slightly. "Hmm, the two generals make a valid point."

But in his response, his attitude seemed somewhat perfunctory, showing that he harbored some doubts about Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao.

Just then, another messenger arrived with news.

"Report! My lord, there is sudden chaos within Wang Shichong's troops, the cause is unknown!"

Dou Jiande abruptly stood up. "Oh? What exactly is the cause of this chaos in their ranks? Go and find out!"

Soon after, another messenger quickly entered the tent. "Report! My lord, it seems that the reason for the chaos in Wang Shichong's troops is that Luoyang has fallen!"

Dou Jiande was stunned.

"Luoyang has fallen?!"

To him, this news was utterly astonishing.

Luoyang was a strong city stocked with ample supplies; Wang Shichong had managed it for a long time. How could it have fallen so easily?

And everyone thought that Liang Army's main force was busy fighting Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. Even if they could divert some troops to attack Luoyang, how many could there be?

Moreover, hadn't Wang Shichong already dispatched Bing Yuanzhen to aid Luoyang?

No wonder Wang Shichong's troops were in disarray. Hearing that his stronghold had been breached would naturally cause panic.

But upon hearing this news, Dou Jiande's initial reaction was immense joy, followed by deep concern.

He was overjoyed because, as Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao had mentioned, the situation had changed, and he was certain to win this battle!

Wang Shichong, knowing Luoyang had fallen, was utterly confused, and his commanders were certainly in a state of panic.

Although the lower-ranking soldiers did not know this news, they could sense something was amiss.

As panic spread, Dou Jiande would be able to win easily.

However, Dou Jiande's joy was mixed with concern, as he simply couldn't understand how Luoyang had fallen.

There were only two possibilities: either Liang had acquired some powerful siege equipment, which made all defenses redundant—If Luoyang couldn't hold up, then no other city could either.

Or there was a spy from Liang inside Luoyang City who had opened the gates for them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.