Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 260: Gathering Soldiers to Die for the King

It's naturally refreshing to attack, but it's not so easy to retreat.

The military organization was in complete chaos and fell into a great melee. At this time, not only could the military envoys not find officers, even the gongs and drums were of little use. The only things that really worked were the flags of officers at all levels.

A single flag could convey limited information, often serving only to guide the direction of movement. Just like the order for troops at all levels to take turns blocking the enemy and covering each other's retreat, a single flag with the words "Wu Xing" inscribed on it could not convey so much information.

Unable to organize mutual cover, the army will often rush to retreat after receiving the retreat order, for fear of falling behind and becoming scapegoats.

Even if there were no pursuers at that time, the retreat would turn into a major rout. In fact, how could there be no pursuers?

As the saying goes, the duck knows first when the river water warms in spring. The first one to feel that the Jin army might be about to withdraw was Zhang Baiyu, who was leading the attack.

This guy's physical strength is truly amazing. He has been fighting with a heavy spear for nearly three quarters of an hour and has changed three war horses, but he is still energetic and keeps charging into the battle.

After driving Ba'atul away, no one could stop Zhang Baiyu. However, while he disrupted the Jin army's formation, his own armored cavalry also fell behind, and they were caught in a melee.

In the end, there were only about a dozen riders following Zhang Baiyu. In the Jin army, there was another person who looked like an officer and gathered dozens of riders, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

Just as the pressure was gradually increasing, the next moment, Zhang Baiyu suddenly felt relieved. He looked up and saw that some of the besieging Jin soldiers had already retreated rapidly. Following the doubtful eyes of some Jin soldiers, he saw that the Wuxing flag was actually moving north.

Zhang Baiyu didn't know what was going on, but he didn't hesitate to burst into laughter, shouting, "Hahaha! The Jin thieves are defeated! The Jin thieves are defeated!"

The guards beside him also cheered at the same time: "The Jin thieves are defeated! The Jin thieves are defeated!"

The noise grew louder and louder, and the Jin army, who were fighting bravely, could not help but look back. Seeing the Wuxing flag retreating, they became discouraged.

Soon, the Jin army cavalry began to withdraw from the battle.

The Jin army, aware of the situation, knew to concentrate their forces to counterattack before retreating, while more Jin cavalry ignored them and turned around and left.

This further confirmed the fact that the Jin army had been badly defeated.

However, Zhang Baiyu, who led the Loyalty Army's cavalry, would never let them go under such circumstances.

Zhang Xiaoyi, who led the remaining troops of the right army and personally fought in the battle, would not let them go.

Li Xiu, who had been fighting for a long time, would never let them go.

"Hunt!"

"Hunt!"

"Kill the gold thief!"

"The Golden Thief is defeated!"

The Wuxing Army's cavalry gradually went from retreating to being defeated, while the Zhongyi Army was fully encouraged and pursued them closely.

People are swept up by the general trend and have no choice.

It is true that famous teachers and generals cannot gain a foothold, and elite soldiers and brave soldiers cannot hold their own.

In such a situation, no matter how brave the defeated soldiers were, they would not dare to turn back and fight, and no matter how cowardly the pursuers were, they would dare to advance alone. With this layer-by-layer encouragement, the morale of the Zhongyi Army was greatly boosted, and the Wuxing Army was completely defeated.

However, Wuxing Army's troubles did not only come from the pursuers behind them, but also from the soldiers blocking their retreat.

"Should we move now?" Lu You's voice trembled with excitement. He grabbed Wang Shilong's arm and shook it hard.

Wang Shilong suppressed his excitement and said, "We should have moved, but we couldn't resist head-on."

After that, before Lu You could ask, Wang Wulang shouted again: "Qilang, the long-axed soldiers are standing in formation on the road. Do you know how to use your sword and shield?"

Shi Qilang's single eye turned around and he laughed out loud: "Of course I know! We'll follow him right away!"

As he spoke, Wang Shilong picked up his long axe and led hundreds of long-axe soldiers who had just rested for a while down from the hill on the east side of the official road. When they reached the middle of the official road, they formed a square formation about a hundred steps long and dozens of steps wide.

Shi Qilang led the sword and shield soldiers to cover the flanks of the longaxe soldiers. After dispersing two or three waves of enemy troops, they finally stabilized their formation in the center of the official road. Lu You followed Wang Shilong, holding a large shield in both hands, tiptoed and looked around, but found that this small square formation of less than a thousand men had not completely blocked the enemy's retreat.

You must know that setting up a battle array on the road can certainly help you gain a foothold on the official road, but if you take into account the more than two miles of flat area between Yishui and the mountainous area, there will be too many places for the defeated soldiers to escape.

As if he had seen Lu You's question, Wang Shilong explained directly, "With our limited number of troops, if we want to block the Jin bandits' entire retreat route, our formation is too thin and we are likely to be dispersed. But as long as we set up our formation along the road, it will be enough to delay the bandits and create an opportunity for the subsequent pursuit."

Lu You was a little bit unconvinced and pointed to the large open spaces on both sides: "Can we... really delay the enemy?"

Wang Shilong nodded: "Of course, a large army march is not like an ordinary outing, there are rules and regulations. As long as we can hold on, it will be another great achievement!"

Lu You nodded in confusion, but still didn't believe it in his heart.

In fact, this incident is very easy to imagine. In later generations, it is often only the first car that breaks down, and the following cars slow down due to various reasons such as changing lanes and braking. In the end, it will turn into an eight-lane traffic jam.

And this scene was played out in front of Lu You in advance.

Many Jin troops who had barely retained their organization were retreating along the official road when they saw that the loyal army had blocked the official road, and they all looked at each other in dismay.

Soon, a wise military officer wanted to organize troops to attack Wang Shilong, but since the army had already begun to disintegrate, it meant that the morale of the army was gone. How could the troops turn around and fight again?
The marching Mouke shouted left and right, but found that not only did he fail to call over friendly troops, but even many of his own soldiers had quietly fled from both wings. For a moment, he could only sigh and also bypassed the strong formation and fled backwards.

The fleeing soldiers who followed tried to stay as far away from the official road as possible and fled through the fields on both sides.

However, although the wilderness was also flat, it was not as smooth as the official roads. In addition, there were also defeated troops in the wilderness. Both sides were fleeing in panic without knowing where to go. They inexplicably collided with each other, causing great chaos. In some areas, there was even a large-scale stampede.

The arrival of the pursuing Loyalists further exacerbated the chaos. The elite soldiers of the past were like pigs and dogs being driven out, huddled together and slaughtered at will by the Loyalists.

Meng Tian closed his eyes in pain, not wanting to see this scene.

After passing Wang Shilong's army, he still looked like he had lost his soul, with his eyes closed and he was stunned and said nothing.

Only after running another three miles did Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, come to his senses as he looked at the camp with black smoke rising up, and suddenly asked, "Where is Pu Cha Guang? Where did that guy go with my banner?"

The guards around them looked at each other, and finally one of them stepped forward bravely. "General Pucha said he wanted to help the commander-in-chief stop the pursuing troops. He also said that he had sent his trusted Mouke to guard the rear, and told Pei Manhui and Wugu Suntan not to participate in the battle.

It's getting dark now. If we can hold out for an hour or two, most of the defeated troops will be able to escape. By then, the commander-in-chief will gather them and it won't be a problem to return to protect Yishui County."

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, suddenly turned around and found that two miles behind him, the Wuxing flag representing the commander-in-chief of the Wuxing Army had been firmly erected. The troops had also set up a battle formation in the road, and a circle of soldiers had gathered around them, and had already started fighting with the pursuers of the Loyal Army.

"General Pucha also said." The guard swallowed and said with difficulty: "He also said that if the commander-in-chief will not let His Majesty down, he will naturally not let the commander-in-chief down. He will definitely fight to the death!"

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, was stunned.

This is the second general who has said he is willing to die today. The general Hui Te Mile who spoke to him before has died in battle. What happened to Pucha Guang?

He didn't dare to think about it anymore.

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, had an inexplicable impulse in his heart. He should lead these hundreds of armored cavalry to fight back, because according to the military law of withdrawing the troops and killing them, when he, the commander-in-chief, started to charge, everyone would follow him and fight the enemy to the death.

However, another voice told him that he should retreat and preserve his strength as much as possible for the future.

If we turn around and fight now, there is about a 20% chance of winning, and an 80% chance of being torn to pieces by the Loyal Army.

With a 20% chance of winning, one should take a gamble, but Meng Tian, who is defending the country, doesn't want to take the gamble.

Amid the hopeful gazes of some personal guards, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, glanced at the Wuxing flag from afar again, and finally drove his horse north.

Most of the Jin army followed Meng Tian in fleeing, but a dozen riders turned around with dim eyes and anger, and walked against the crowd towards the Wuxing flag.

But it doesn’t matter. No one cares about what these dozen people think, and no one cares about their lives.

Just a dozen people, less than one percent of today's casualties!

(End of this chapter)