Cao Shancheng died, and Qinghe was settled.
But Liaocheng still lay untouched before them, heavy forces remained massed at Tangyi, Wuyang Commandery still required a resolution, and this advance needed a resounding finish.
It was now the last day of March, and the last day of spring. As the Exorcising the Dragon Army's Three Routes of Troops advanced in force, at a speed far beyond anyone's expectations, the substantial government force at Tangyi, now aware of the battlefield situation, decisively abandoned the town and headed south toward Liaocheng.
This move was both an attempt to relieve Liaocheng and rescue the two senior officials trapped inside, and a means of linking up with the troops previously stationed along the river to secure their retreat... After all, although many government troops had answered the crisis in Qinghe, their main fighting force remained the ten thousand-plus Eastern Capital veterans under Qutu Da, and that army had come along the river in the first place.
Of course, there was also the practical consideration that unless they left now, Tangyi and those ten thousand Eastern Capital veterans would themselves be surrounded by the Exorcising the Dragon Gang's rapidly advancing forces.
This move also spared the Exorcising the Dragon Army the sudden dilemma their rapid progress had raised-Tangyi or Liaocheng. Orders immediately went out to every town and position to concentrate their forces and descend on Liaocheng.
That morning, the Exorcising the Dragon Gang's Scout Cavalry specifically watching Tangyi to the north detected unusual movements. Before noon, countless scouting parties, including Guo Jingke himself, had personally witnessed the government forces from Tangyi pushing toward Liaocheng regardless of everything. They immediately delivered confirmed news in person to the Exorcising the Dragon Gang's cavalry, who had established a blocking camp three li west of Liaocheng and were enjoying