Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 170

Then he looked around and said, "I didn't expect Wu Shun's army to collapse on its own during the battle. Could it be that Qin Rui, though pretending not to grant my request, actually hoped that the government army would be defeated?" His attendants suggested, "If that's the case, we should recall General Xing and not pursue Wu Shun's army too much."

Tian Chengsi waved his hand: "I have no prior agreement with Qin Rui, so what does it have to do with me if he runs away? Let General Xing go all out and kill as many people as possible. Maybe I will have a chance to take control of Bei and De provinces!"

He then shook his shoulders, stood up, and grinned, saying, "Even if Li Ji is a fierce tiger, how can he not be defeated if he associates with dogs and sheep?" He ordered his men, "Send four more battalions up and make sure to crush Weibo in one fell swoop, so that not a single horse can escape back home."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a report came from the front: "The Zhaoyi Army has retreated on its own."

Tian Chengsi curled his lip and said, "As expected. Not to mention Xue E, even Xue Song doesn't have much guts. Now that the pontoon bridge has been burned, he will definitely retreat to Tangyang for the time being—truly, 'a military family doesn't last three generations.' No wonder Xue Rengui would have such a useless grandson." He ordered his men to bring his horse, saying, "I want to go to the front lines myself and see Li Ji's pathetic state."

Another report came from afar: "General Li said that after fighting for half a day, his men and horses are exhausted. Now that the victory is assured, he earnestly requests that the Mozhou army temporarily retreat."

Tian Chengsi smiled and said, "Li Baozhong is quite sensible; he won't steal my army's credit—then let's invite the Mozhou army back..." He turned to Wang You and instructed, "You may prepare fine wine and lamb to properly entertain the Mozhou army for me." Wang You also smiled broadly and hurriedly bowed in agreement.

Tian Chengsi had planned to wait for Li Baozhong to return so he could express his gratitude before heading to the front lines. However, even after he was fully armored, mounted his horse, and was still without a trace of the Mozhou cavalry, he was puzzled when a urgent report arrived: "General Li of Mozhou has been killed in action!"

Tian Chengsi was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "How did he die?"

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Now, after Li Baozhong received Tian Chengsi's approval, he was about to lead his three thousand elite cavalry from Mozhou back to their camp when he suddenly saw the flags of the Weibo army, which had been forced to retreat dozens of steps, waving. They changed their formation in front of the enemy, actively creating six or seven gaps and releasing several fresh troops.

Li Baozhong smiled and said, "It's just a desperate struggle."

He knew that Li Ji must still have fresh troops at his disposal. If they weren't deployed at this critical juncture, they would inevitably collapse along with other camps, a complete waste and utterly useless. If it were him, he would certainly have drawn all his fresh troops out for a desperate gamble, hoping to temporarily force back the enemy in front of him, so that the retreat could at least reduce casualties.

The battle situation was bound to change—of course, since Wu Shun and Zhao Yi's armies had already retreated, and Weibo was isolated and helpless, no matter how hard it tried, it was impossible to completely reverse the situation—therefore, Li Baozhong did not leave for the time being, but instead raised his eyes to observe. He intended to first find out whether this fresh force had come out to try to counterattack, or simply to act as a rearguard to cover the retreat of Li Ji's main force?

Although our army has marched a long way from Mozhou and rested for only one night before responding to Commander Tian's request to join the battle, and fought fiercely for a long time, we are quite exhausted. However—if we can decisively defeat the Weibo army, pursuing the defeated enemy may not be too difficult, and we will surely achieve great results. I have heard that in the Battle of Zizhou, Zhang Xiancheng's entire army was wiped out, and even the military governor's insignia was obtained by Cui Gan, making that young man famous throughout the land. If I can seize the Weibo insignia today, would I still be just a general of a mere prefecture, a military commander?

It's time to find someone else to take over Zhu Ci's position as deputy military commissioner.

He immediately stood to the side of the main formation and watched from afar, but unexpectedly, the enemy troops charged out of the formation, quickly gathered together, and headed straight for him.

—Who told him to fly the banner of the Youzhou army?

It is said that the Wei Bo army and the Tianxiong army fought five or six battles in half a month, and most of the soldiers knew their relative strengths and weaknesses. When Li Ji inspected the various camps, Yang Shigu deliberately stood out and said, "Although the enemy army is numerous, in my humble opinion, they are far inferior to our Weizhou defense army—Wei Bo is a strong and powerful force, the strongest in the world. Why should we fear them? As long as the commander gives the order, we can send the whole army to attack. Even if we cannot take Tian Chengsi's head, we will make him tremble with fear every night from now on, and dare not look south. Why did the commander order the troops to stay in the fort after the first battle, instead of sending them all out?"

When Li Ji led his troops, he never concealed information or deployments from his soldiers that were not military secrets. He strongly disliked the saying, "The people can be made to follow, but not to know." Only those who know can truly understand. If subordinates are completely confused, they can only obey orders and cannot possibly exert their initiative. After all, I am leading soldiers, not a swarm of insects.

He then smiled and explained to Yang Shigu and the others, "If I go all out, I can indeed defeat Tianxiong Army. However, our army is ultimately outnumbered and cannot inflict heavy casualties. If Tian Chengsi escapes back to his lair, it will be difficult to defeat him. It is better to hold him back for now and wait for reinforcements to arrive so that we can encircle him."

This was an open strategy, and he wasn't afraid of it reaching the enemy's ears. Tian Chengsi could easily tell that Li Ji wasn't using his full strength, but he couldn't possibly know how much he was using. Therefore, he would inevitably harbor wishful thinking and hesitate to retreat. If Tian Chengsi were a coward, he would have run away long ago, and Li Ji wouldn't have needed to feign weakness. It was precisely because Tian Chengsi had been a brave general in the rebel army, accustomed to frontline combat, and disliked entering the city to defend himself and handing the initiative to the enemy, that Li Ji acted this way.

Yang Shigu said at the time, "I fear that our Weibo army is actually strong but is showing weakness to the enemy, while Wu Shun's army is actually weak but is showing strength to the enemy. The longer we delay, the more timid they will become, and in the end, they will become a burden to us..."

Li Ji felt quite ashamed. His understanding of Qin Rui and Wu Shunjun was not as accurate as that of a mere novice... Maybe Yang Shigu was a jinx, saying whatever came true!

Therefore, the Wei Bo soldiers were not afraid of the Tianxiong Army. After several battles, they had a clear understanding of the Tianxiong Army's strengths and weaknesses. Some generals with a bit of brains, such as Yang Shigu, could even pinpoint the enemy's weaknesses. However, the Youzhou Army was something they had never encountered before. It was said that the Youzhou Iron Cavalry fiercely defended the border, repeatedly defeated the Eastern Barbarians, and was the strongest force in Yan and Zhao. Wasn't it the Youzhou Army that Shi Siming used to sweep through Hebei in an instant, then crush the army of the Eleven Military Governors, and kill An Qingxu to become emperor?

We initially thought the only enemy facing us was the Tianxiong Army, and although they outnumbered us slightly, we weren't afraid. Even without reinforcements, we were confident we could handle them—the ordinary soldiers' confidence was actually stronger than that of generals like Li Ji, though somewhat blindly so. Who would have thought that Youzhou would send troops to rescue Tian Chengsi? There were at least three to five thousand elite cavalry alone; heaven knows how many more came in total…

In particular, the appearance of the Youzhou army banner caused the Wu Shun army to collapse instantly—in fact, Li Ziyi and his men were just taking advantage of the situation and finding a good excuse—so the strength of the Youzhou soldiers was probably comparable to our army! As a result, the Wei Bo generals and soldiers inevitably felt a little apprehensive about the Mozhou cavalry led by Li Baozhong.

The movements at the front were promptly relayed back to the central command, and Li Ji was somewhat aware of and could understand the soldiers' mentality. Therefore, he personally led several battalions of fresh troops to the front lines. Upon catching sight of the Youzhou banners, he immediately raised his lance and shouted, "In my eyes, the Youzhou army are nothing but dogs and sheep! I will now lead you to kill the Youzhou general and break their formation!" He charged straight at Li Baozhong, taking the lead.

His willingness to risk his life and personally lead the counterattack naturally meant he was targeting a strong enemy. If he could defeat the strong, their momentum would falter, giving the Weibo army a chance to safely return to their camp. As for the weaker forces, they might have been manageable before, but now the disparity in strength was so vast that the outcome could be decided in the blink of an eye. Even if you managed to poke several holes in their lines, Tian Chengsi wouldn't care unless they were vital. Instead, they were likely to be swept up in the sea of ​​soldiers, becoming bogged down and unable to escape.

Li Ji was guarded by about three hundred cavalrymen, and behind him were two battalions of Weizhou defense troops. Although the number was not large, they were all fresh soldiers who had been resting for a long time. Moreover, with the commander personally leading the charge, they followed behind. Their masculine blood surged up, and their strength increased from ten to twelve percent. In an instant, they repelled the two Tianxiong armies that blocked their way and charged straight towards the Mozhou army.

Upon seeing this, Li Baozhong was initially alarmed and intended to retreat—after all, his troops were exhausted, and there was no need to waste too many of Youzhou's warriors' lives for someone else's sake—but upon closer inspection, he saw Li Ji and several hundred cavalry charging ahead, slashing with swords and thrusting with spears, cutting a bloody path, and quickly putting a certain distance between themselves and the infantry behind them…

Upon seeing this, Li Baozhong had an idea and ordered his men to spread out, saying, "The Tianxiong Army can disperse to the left and right, and we will wipe out these Weibo bandits."

He hoped that Li Ji's infantry and cavalry could continue to spread out until they were completely separated, thus giving him the opportunity to surround and kill the enemy cavalry—they were only a few hundred riders; his three thousand elite cavalry from Mozhou, no matter how tired they were and unable to engage in close combat, could easily defeat them by simply surrounding them and unleashing a hail of arrows. If he could capture Li Ji, he would become famous throughout the land—he couldn't let such a good opportunity slip by again.

When Li Baozhong was defending Fanyang County, Shi Chaoyi led several thousand men to request reinforcements. Li Baozhong refused to let them in—knowing that his commander, Li Huaixian, had already decided to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. However, he didn't attack Shi Chaoyi; instead, he ordered food and drink to be brought outside the city to feed Shi's army. Many of Shi Chaoyi's troops were from Youzhou, and after eating their fill, they scattered. Ultimately, Shi Chaoyi, with only a few hundred personal guards, fled to Guangyang, then attempted to escape to the Khitan or Xi tribes, but was refused entry. He was eventually caught by Li Huaixian and hanged himself…

However, this was only the official version of events. In reality, Shi Chaoyi was strangled to death on Li Huaixian's orders. Upon hearing the news, Li Baozhong was filled with remorse, thinking, "If I had known my commander was so ruthless and disregarded our past loyalty, I would have acted first! If I could have captured or killed Shi Chaoyi myself, I might have even been able to obtain the purple robe!"

I hesitated that day and missed a great opportunity. I can't repeat the same mistake this time.

However, Li Ji can be captured but not killed. Capturing him first and then releasing him would still be possible, but if he were killed directly, the emperor would be furious with me, and Li Huaixian might not be willing to protect me. Therefore, if we can surround him here, the chance of capturing him alive is very high. Such a good opportunity must not be missed.

With careful observation and patient waiting, it seemed that Heaven truly smiled upon them, and indeed, they were surrounded. Li Ji was charging forward blindly, hoping to decisively defeat the Youzhou troops and temporarily stabilize the battle, thus securing his survival. He couldn't afford to slow down and wait for the infantry to catch up. Furthermore, the Tianxiong army was already exhausted, and seeing Li Ji's banners, they were somewhat intimidated. After receiving a message from Li Baozhong, they quickly parted to make way. Li Ji, leading several hundred elite cavalry, was thus outmaneuvered by two Mozhou cavalry units, completely cutting them off from the infantry behind them.

Seeing this, Li Ji showed no fear, but instead charged fiercely at Li Baozhong, spear in hand. Li Baozhong cried out, "General Li is surrounded by our army and has no chance of survival. Why not surrender and I guarantee your life? In two days, I will respectfully escort you back to Weibo!" Li Ji sneered, "A true man dies when he should, but he will not suffer humiliation!"

Although he was used to being reckless, he was by no means fearless of death. He always felt that if he couldn't do something earth-shattering after his transmigration and just died quietly, how regrettable and not worth it would be. However, if faced with the choice between a heroic death and a cowardly life, not to mention Li Ji, most men on the battlefield would disdain to choose—after all, once you die, you'll know nothing; if he laid down his arms and became a prisoner, he would suffer boundless humiliation, his lifelong reputation would be ruined, and even his wife and children would be looked down upon and even spat on. Could a good person live such a life?

Anyway, on the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes. Before I charged out, I was mentally prepared—go ahead and kill me if you dare, don't even think about making me surrender!

Li Ji's fearlessness made Li Baozhong somewhat hesitant to act rashly. So he slightly moved his horse aside and ordered his soldiers to surround him in layers, without engaging in close combat, only shooting arrows at him. But be careful not to hurt Commander Li, just kill all his men. I'll see if he dares to cause trouble again after he's left alone on horseback!

In an instant, arrows rained down, and Weibo cavalrymen fell from their horses, struck by arrows one after another. Several soldiers turned their horses to shield Li Ji, but Li Ji roared and shoved them aside with his spear: "What's the point of protecting him now? Charge forward and kill the traitors!" He spurred his horse forward, still heading towards Li Baozhong.

He wielded a lance in his left hand and a sword in his right, leading his troops in a charge into the Mozhou army. With slashes and thrusts, he quickly felled several enemies. The remaining Weibo cavalry followed, and soon they were locked in combat, causing the Mozhou cavalry to no longer dare to draw their bows and fire.

Li Baozhong had no choice but to send his cavalry units forward in waves to block Li Ji. He thought to himself, "Manpower has its limits. I don't believe you can kill all three thousand of my elite cavalry and still wield spears and swords. At worst, I'll lose a few hundred or a thousand more lives. As long as I capture Li Ji alive in the end, any number of casualties will be worth it."

As a result, they failed to notice that their own protective forces were gradually dwindling and becoming increasingly weak...

In the midst of the battle, a cavalry force suddenly galloped in from the flank. Li Baozhong heard the sound of hooves, turned around, and saw that it was the banner of Weibo! Before he could even recover from his shock, a swift horseman with a long spear was already upon him—

"Lei Wanchun, kill the traitor here!" The spear thrust straight at Li Baozhong's chest. Caught off guard, Li Baozhong was struck through his heavy armor by the spear blade, which pierced through his heart!

Chapter Twenty-Six: A Cornered Beast Still Fights

Lei Wanchun led four battalions of cavalry, including Yang Shigu's, to guard the left flank, hoping to coordinate with the Zhaoyi Army and, when the main battlefield was exhausted, launch a surprise attack to severely damage or even completely defeat the Tianxiong Army. However, the left flank remained firmly in place—the enemy did not launch a fierce attack—while the right flank collapsed first.

Seeing smoke rising from the Zhang River in the distance, Lei Wanchun knew something was wrong. Without even needing a messenger, he guessed that Wu Shun's army was in dire straits. Yang Shigu quickly came over and asked him, "What should we do? Should we advance to relieve the danger on the right flank by attacking Wei, or should we go back to protect the central army?"

Lei Wanchun hesitated for a moment, then replied, "We cannot advance without orders, and if we retreat to defend... it would be tantamount to abandoning the Zhaoyi Army." He ordered his men to go to his own camp and Xue E's place to inquire about countermeasures and receive instructions.

Unfortunately, the central battle was raging, and the cavalry he sent to his main camp was hit by a stray arrow and failed to arrive in time; the cavalry that went to inquire about Xue E came and went smoothly, but reported back: "Chief Secretary Xue said that the situation is hopeless and he will lead the Zhaoyi Army to retreat temporarily, asking us to cover his retreat."

Yang Shigu slammed his hand on the saddle bridge and cursed, "Outrageous! The general is unwilling to abandon the Zhaoyi Army, but who would have thought that the Zhaoyi Army would abandon my Weibo!" He pointed with his whip and said, "Most of the Zhaoyi Army has not yet participated in the battle. They are numerous and have plenty of strength. They should go forward with us now to force back the enemy in front of them and alleviate the crisis on the right wing and in the center."

Lei Wanchun nodded and said, "You are right." He then instructed his subordinate, "Go to the Zhaoyi Army camp again and plead with Chief Secretary Xue on my behalf."

But who would have thought that Xue E not only had made up his mind, but also acted quite quickly. When the cavalry under Lei Wanchun's command returned to the Zhaoyi Army's main camp, it was already as if a whirlwind had swept through, leaving nothing behind...

Lei Wanchun watched as the Zhaoyi Army not far from him turned around in unison, the rear guard becoming the front guard, and left their battle formation. Soon after, the Tianxiong Army, covering the entire mountainside, charged forward.

He twisted his lance, ready to charge forward and fight. But Yang Shigu stopped him, advising, "Since they have abandoned us, do we really want our army to cover their retreat for these cowards? Moreover, with the Zhaoyi army retreating, if we leave this place, our left flank will be undefended, and our army will be attacked from the side—General, please think it over!"

Lei Wanchun was only acting out of momentary anger and a fit of rage. After all, he was a seasoned general who could discern the advantages and disadvantages. If the fleeing troops were from his own Weibo army, that would be one thing, but since they were troops from another garrison and had no orders from their commander, why should we lend a helping hand? Besides, we might not even have the strength to help others...

Therefore, they halted their troops and remained in a state of high alert, ready for battle.

The Tianxiong Army originally intended to seize the opportunity to flank the government forces' left flank, but the Zhaoyi Army suddenly changed formation and retreated. The soldiers, each fighting for their lives, ran faster and faster, their ranks instantly scattering – ultimately, Xue E fled first, and there was no other general to coordinate the retreat; he merely issued a military order. Now, with the Zhaoyi Army like sheep before them and the still-murderous Weibo cavalry on their flanks, who should they attack? Did they need anyone to tell them?

In those days, most of the lower-ranking officers in the various towns lacked a sense of the big picture, and the soldiers were only interested in beheading more people to get rewards or plunder the spoils of defeated soldiers. As a result, they all let the Weibo cavalry go and chased them straight to the place where the Tianxiong Army had retreated. No matter who it was, they all liked to pick on the weak unless necessary.

Yang Shigu couldn't help but curl his lip: "The Xue family should pray for their own good fortune." He then asked Lei Wanchun, "Since the enemy dares not invade, how should our army respond?"

Lei Wanchun said in a deep voice, "Let's stabilize the formation and remain calm."

He had just sent three more riders to his main camp to request instructions, and finally one of them came running back, drenched in sweat, to inform him: "The commander is determined not to retreat and has personally led his troops out of the enemy lines to counterattack. Deputy Commander Tian wants us to go forward and provide support!" Lei Wanchun said, "Great!"—not afraid of battle, but extremely excited—and raised his iron spear: "The enemy outnumbers us, and we are in a critical situation. This is the time for fine men to gallop across the battlefield, kill the enemy, and show their might!"

He then asked his men, “When I first served under the late Lord Zhang, I fought many fierce battles where I was on the verge of death. Since entering Hebei, however, I have only been able to joke and play around, and have never been able to enjoy myself. Now, I wish to disregard life and death and charge into battle. Are you all willing to follow me?”

Yang Shiyan nudged Yang Shigu in the groin from behind, as if to say: This is a death trap, we can't follow. Yang Shigu turned around, glared at his brother, and whispered, "Do you really think the general is asking for our will? This is a military order. If we don't follow, we'll be executed on the spot! We're going to die anyway, so we might as well go forward, kill a few more bandits, and at least someone will carry our banners on the road to the underworld!"

Immediately, a chorus of shouts erupted from the army: "Wei Bo's army is mighty, the strongest in the land! We are willing to follow the general to kill the enemy!" Their voices were like thunder. Yang Shigu thought to himself, "Oh no! Because of that idiot brother's delay, I'm too late to shout the slogan..."

So Lei Wanchun led his two thousand cavalrymen out suddenly, heading straight for the enemy formation. He was originally stationed on the left flank, in the northern part of the battlefield, but the Mozhou cavalry charged left and right in front of him, killing for more than an hour, and finally stopped on the opposite side—also to monitor this fresh cavalry force from Weibo. Therefore, before Li Ji charged out, he turned diagonally to the left, heading straight for Li Baozhong.

Li Baozhong was determined to capture Li Ji alive, so he drove most of his cavalry forward, surrounding Li Ji in four or five layers. Inadvertently, he exposed his own banner. Lei Wanchun's sharp spearhead caused the Tianxiong Army to scatter, allowing him to take the lead and unexpectedly reach Li Baozhong. He then shouted and thrust his spear forward!

Li Baozhong cried out in agony and fell from his horse. Yang Shigu seized the opportunity to approach, disperse the escorting cavalry, and capture the general's flag. With their commander dead and the flag taken, the Mozhou soldiers were naturally terrified and fled eastward in droves. Lei Wanchun was thus able to rescue Li Ji and his party.

He wanted to pursue the defeated enemy, but Li Ji ordered, "It is permissible. Now that the Youzhou troops have been routed, the enemy's courage will surely be broken. We should withdraw our troops and return to camp."

Ultimately, you killed Li Baozhong, not Tian Chengsi. This battle is not over yet, so why keep chasing after the fleeing enemy?

The two armies then joined forces, their hooves thundering as they charged southward. The Tianxiong army was already exhausted, and with both flanks of the opposing force broken, victory seemed within their grasp. Naturally, they abandoned their will to fight to the death and instead harbored thoughts of survival. Thus, as the Weibo cavalry passed by, each camp withdrew its troops one after another.

This forced the enemy forces to retreat a short distance, and then the sound of metal clashing rang out in the camp as the troops slowly withdrew and returned to their camp.

Tianxiong Army general Meng Xiyou was still unwilling to give up. He gathered several newly dispatched battalions of fresh troops to chase after them from behind. Just as they were getting close to the Weibo army, Li Ji and Lei Wanchun suddenly rode out on horseback, thrusting their double spears and killing several people in succession. Meng Xiyou panicked and was forced to stop - he could only watch helplessly as the Weibo army retreated into their fortified camp.

When Tian Chengsi received the news later, he repeatedly expressed his regret—the battle was finally won, but the war was far from over.

In today's battle, the Zhaoyi Army actually suffered the greatest losses. Their retreat in front of the enemy quickly turned into a massive rout, with the Tianxiong Army pursuing them from behind, capturing or killing no fewer than two or three thousand men and seizing countless provisions and supplies. On the other hand, the Wushun Army, because they were fleeing voluntarily, and Qin Rui immediately positioned himself at the bridgehead to cover their retreat, suffered only a few hundred casualties. However, as the soldiers fled, weapons were scattered all over the ground, and all the camp's valuables fell into the hands of Xing Caojun.

Fortunately, Qin Rui managed to protect his family's banner, avoiding the disgraceful embarrassment that Zhang Xiancheng suffered...

— Zhang Xiancheng, not only among the Tang army, but also among the surrendered generals of An Lushan, had become a laughing stock.

The losses suffered by the Tianxiong Army mainly came from the fierce battle with the Weibo Army, with each side suffering several hundred to nearly a thousand casualties, a roughly equal number. Therefore, Tian Chengsi was very dissatisfied. He felt that while the Tianxiong Army had won a great victory against the government army in the battle against the Youzhou Allied Army, the Tianxiong Army alone still managed to achieve a draw against the Weibo Army.

Order a contingent to relentlessly pursue the Zhaoyi Army, making sure they reach Tangyang City in one fell swoop, lest that bastard Xue E gain a foothold. If even Tangyang cannot be defended, then the Zhaoyi Army will have to retreat to their homeland and cease to be a threat to us.

He then ordered Xing Caojun to cross the Zhang River and pursue the enemy northward, on the one hand completely dispersing Wu Shun's troops, and on the other hand attempting to recapture Xindu, thus completely cutting off Weibo's retreat route.

However, after the order was issued, Xing Caojun turned back and said to Tian Chengsi, "Wu Shun's army is no longer worth mentioning, and Xindu can be easily recaptured; however, Weibo is still holding firm. We have not yet achieved complete success, so we cannot be complacent."

Tian Chengsi asked, "What do you think of my plan to surround them on all sides and wait for them to run out of food and fall into disarray?"

Wang You waved his hand and said, "No. The Wei Bo people are strong and fierce. Even if they fight like cornered beasts, they can still kill General Li of Mozhou. If we cut off their retreat and cut off their supply lines, they will still have 10,000 men. If they risk their lives to break through the encirclement, our army will suffer heavy losses. If we can wipe them out here, there is still something to talk about. But if we accidentally let them escape, it will not be worth it."

He then suggested, "Why not open up the riverbank, allow them to rebuild the pontoon bridge and retreat, and then pursue and kill them when they retreat? We can gain a great profit that way."

Xing Caojun shook his head: "This plan is not advisable. If Li Ji retreats to Xindu after crossing Zhangzhou, it will be difficult to take it easily. Most of the government army's food supplies are in Xindu. How can we not take it?"

After all, tens of thousands of troops were stuck under the walls of Hengshui for more than half a month, and the Tianxiong Army was running out of food supplies. Since there was no preparation for war this year, how could they bear to let the money and grain that Li Ji brought from Weibo and the imperial court rewarded them fall into Li Ji's hands again?

If the Weibo army retreats to Xindu, they may very well be able to transport a large amount of grain back to their hometown!

Tian Chengsi asked, "Then what good plan do you have?"

Xing Caojun said, "We can implement a strategy of encircling three sides and leaving one open." He then explained that if we blockade the fordable points on the Zhang River, Li Ji will have no choice but to retreat westward, pursue Xue E, and flee to Tangyang. Moreover, considering that the morale of the Zhaoyi army is low, they may not be able to hold Tangyang, and even if they can, they cannot stay there for long. Li Ji must act tonight or tomorrow morning, or it will be too late. Therefore, our army does not need to completely encircle them; by leaving the western route open and setting up an ambush along the way, we will surely be able to defeat the Weibo army.

Tian Chengsi stroked his beard and pondered, "Will Li Bi really be willing to leave?"

Xing Caojun laughed and said, "If they don't leave, how many days can they hold out with just the food and fodder in their fortifications? Let's wait until our army takes Tangyang and Xindu, then inform the Weibo army that all their escape routes are cut off. Surely their soldiers will lose their will to fight and their troops will be willing to surrender. Do you think we're afraid of them fighting like cornered beasts?"

Xu Shize interjected, "General Xing's words make sense, but even so, Commander Tian should not hastily attack the enemy's fortifications, much less humiliate Commander Li. My suggestion is that if Commander Li refuses to leave, we should surround the enemy for three to five days, and then send him a letter, earnestly requesting that he submit a memorial to clear my name. In exchange, he should allow the Weibo soldiers to lay down their weapons and return to their garrison safely—to save the lives of the entire army, Commander Li will most likely agree. In this way, the imperial edict for conquest may be lifted, and Commander Tian can sit in peace."

Tian Chengsi smiled and said, "If that's the case, that would be best, but it would only benefit Li Ji..." He then instructed, "Let's do as Lord Xing says and let you go to the west to set up an ambush."

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During the fierce battle, Wu Shun's army was the first to break up and flee. The group that ran in the lead was Li Ziyi's group, which consisted of about three battalions.

After crossing the pontoon bridge and setting foot on the land of Zhangnan, several soldiers were still rushing forward with their heads down when Li Ziyi called out from behind, "Where are you all headed?"

The answer was: "Go to Xindu first, rest for a while, and then go directly back to Beizhou."

Li Ziyi shook his head: "We cannot go to Xindu."

He then explained that the troops guarding Xindu City were now from Weibo, and upon seeing them flee back, they would inevitably inquire about the fate of their own army. However, with so many people and so many mouths, a lie couldn't be perfectly convincing. If any soldier revealed that we had abandoned our allies and fled first, did he think the Weibo soldiers would still greet us with smiles? In our haste to escape, many soldiers even lost their weapons; how could we possibly fight a fierce battle with the defenders and capture the city?

Therefore, I advise you all not to linger, but to flee back to Beizhou in one go, which would be the safest option—however, I will not be following you, and I take my leave now.

Li Ziyi had considered it very clearly. Today, I was coerced by you all and was the first to shout in the formation and the first to turn and run away, which affected the entire army and caused them to collapse and become uncontrollable. As I just said, with so many people talking, the news could not be kept from leaking. So when Commander Qin returned to his town, would he let me off the hook?

Several generals hurriedly advised, "We will cover for you, Old Li. Commander Qin may not know the truth."

Li Ziyi thought to himself, "Stop talking nonsense. You all clung to me in the first place just to push me out as a scapegoat. You even covered for me. If you didn't take the initiative to report me, you must have some conscience left! But I can't risk my life to gamble on the fact that you people still have any humanity left."

He had already seized a horse during his escape, and now that he was riding a strong horse and holding a sword, he was no longer afraid of being stopped by the soldiers. So he bowed from his horse and said, "Farewell, I hope we will meet again someday."

Someone asked him, "Old Li, where are you going?"

Actually, the world is so vast, and government control is becoming increasingly lax, so where can't one go? The problem is that Li Ziyi has been a military officer for over ten years and has no other skills, so apart from joining the army, he really can't think of anywhere else to settle down.

I reckon they can't stay in Hebei any longer.

He still had some backbone and was unwilling to surrender to the enemy, namely the Tianxiong Army. However, Youzhou and Chengde were both north of the battlefield, and going there now would be suicide. Since he couldn't return to Wushun Army and couldn't go back to Weibo Town, the only place he could go, even though Hebei was vast, was Zhaoyi Army... But Wushun Army had collapsed first, and it wasn't just Weibo that was affected. Zhaoyi was probably even more wronged—they had just arrived and hadn't even settled down before they tasted defeat—if someone exposed them, or if Weibo and Wushun issued warrants for their arrest, they would have no chance of survival.

The only option now is to part ways with those Wu Shun army generals. They will head south, while we will go west, passing through the territory of the Zhaoyi army, to Hedong or the capital region, and see which one happens to raise a banner to recruit soldiers...

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Prime Minister Can Be Bound

Qin Rui escaped across the Zhang River and looked back to see flames rising. He slapped his saddle in anger and said, "It's all because I didn't manage my subordinates well, which led to the chaos in the army... No, it's all that eunuch's fault that I suffered such a defeat!" He knew very well that once this wing of his army collapsed, unless the Zhaoyi Army could perform at an extraordinary level and fight bravely, it would be difficult to reverse the defeat.

However, he did not have a high opinion of the Zhaoyi Army. Not only had he always looked down on the Xue brothers, but he had also observed their army when they first arrived. The troops were quite disorganized and included many old and weak soldiers. If they were to fight face to face, his own 7,000 Wushun soldiers would have a chance to defeat Xue E's 30,000 troops.

Of course, this is all on the premise that Wu Shun's army cannot descend into chaos again.

Guo Mo advised from the side, "This is all the fault of the eunuchs, not the fault of the commander. You should return to your post immediately and submit a memorial to impeach them." He paused, then added, "I only hope that Weibo and Zhaoyi will also be defeated, then my Wushun Army will not have to bear the blame alone."

If the allied forces are all defeated, the court will naturally punish the defeated troops and generals who fled first, but there will still be a chance to shirk responsibility; if only we escaped, but Weibo and Zhaoyi eventually stabilized the situation, I'm afraid you, Commander, will have an even harder time explaining yourself.