Qiu Yizi wanted to shout loudly to gather the troops, but the shouts of the Lingnan Army and the cries of the Jiangnan Jiedu Army roared in his ears, so that he could not hear what he said. He only saw in the chaos that hundreds of naked and tattooed people suddenly emerged from the Lingnan Army, holding short blades and slashing and killing among the government troops.
When Qiu Yizi saw these people, he suddenly realized: it turned out that the King of Lingnan had recruited the barbarians from the Lingnan chieftain's stronghold. These barbarians fought bravely and fearlessly, and their appearance was strange. The soldiers in the Central Plains had never seen them before, so it was not strange to call them "ghosts".
It was these ghostly barbarians who dealt the final blow to the already weak and depressed morale of the government troops. They could no longer muster the courage to resist the enemy's attack, and most of them fled in a blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Zhao Chengxiao, the guard beside Qiu Yizhi, hurriedly said: "Our army is doomed to fail, sir, please leave quickly!"
Qiu Yizi also planned to find the flaws in the Lingnan army in the desperate situation, take advantage of the chaos to win the victory and turn the tide. However, he was reminded by Zhao Chengxiao's words and realized that he had failed. The King of Lingnan himself seemed to be still living deep in the formation, and even his whereabouts were unknown, let alone attacking and killing him.
But Qiu Yizhi said in embarrassment: "I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies after all. In this situation, how can I abandon the entire army and retreat by myself? Wouldn't it be ridiculed by others?"
"How pedantic!" Lin Shuhan lectured, "Our army is now powerless to fight back. If you continue to hold on here, you will only be killed. What good will it do? It is better to retreat to the camp first and ask Liu Qing, the governor of Jinling City, to open the city gates and let as many defeated soldiers as possible into the city. There may be a chance to turn the tables and counterattack in the future."
Qiu Yizhi thought about it and felt that what Lin Shuhan said made some sense. He could only sigh and said, "There is no other way. Let's go back to the camp first, pick up Miss Wen, Miss Wu and others, and see if we can run into Jinling City. This is the only way to go now."
Upon receiving the order, the troops immediately escorted Qiu Yizi and quickly headed towards the former Lingnan Army's Jinling siege camp, which they had just occupied for less than an hour.
When the government troops saw that their commander Qiu Yizi had retreated, they lost the courage and confidence to continue fighting and were defeated like a tide.
Qiu Yizi and others were almost squeezed out by their own troops before they entered the camp. They saw that Wen Lingjiao, Wu Ruofei and others seemed to have heard the news of the defeat of the front army, and had prepared horses and vehicles, waiting for Qiu Yizi and others to arrive.
Qiu Yizi did not have time to talk to them. He immediately went out from the north side of the camp and came to the foot of Jinling City. Looking up, he saw countless defenders on the tall city wall observing the battle situation below. He then gave two instructions to "Black-necked Toad" and asked him to shout to the top of the city wall immediately.
After hearing this, the Black Necked Toad shouted at the top of his voice: "People in the city, please open the city gates and let us in!"
After calling out several times, the heavy Jinling city gate remained motionless.
Qiu Yizi suddenly thought that a year ago, there were only a few Japanese pirates causing trouble outside the city of Jinling, which frightened the defenders so much that they closed the city gates and dared not come out. Today, the King of Lingnan has an army of 40,000 approaching, so why don’t they close the gates as tightly as a dam
After figuring this out, Qiu Yizhi quickly took out the golden order from his bosom, waved it at the defenders on the city wall, and shouted to the "Black-necked Toad": "Listen, Jinling defenders, the golden order is here, conveying the emperor's decree, asking the governor Liu Qing to come out and speak!"
This golden order representing the emperor's majesty was indeed useful. In just a moment, Liu Qing, the governor of Jiangnan Road and the general Zhendong, appeared on the city wall.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly ordered the "Black Neck Toad" to shout, "Liu Qing, look at who I am, why don't you open the city gate and let me in. I have a golden order in my hand, do you want to disobey the order?"
Liu Qing was the guard of the current emperor when he was still the Prince of Youyan. Of course, he recognized Qiu Yizi and knew the power of the golden order arrow. He really didn't have the courage to refuse. But he looked down from a high position and saw that the Lingnan Army was close to a complete victory and would break through the defense line of the government army under the city in a blink of an eye. If he opened the city gate at this time, it would be tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house, and this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties that had been defended for more than half a year would fall.
In the dilemma, Liu Qing suddenly came up with a clever idea and asked a loud-voiced soldier in the army to shout to the people below the city: "The enemy's attack is very urgent, it is not advisable to open the south gate. Please go west and enter the city from the Sanshan Gate."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yizi thought that there was nothing wrong with Liu Qing's behavior. The Sanshan Gate was only a mile away from here, and his team was moving very quickly, so it wouldn't take much time. What's more, the situation was urgent and he couldn't afford to argue with Liu Qing under the city.
So he quickly commanded his elite troops to drive the carriage carrying the women and family members, and turned westward, along the majestic city walls of Jinling City, and quickly moved towards the Sanshan Gate in the west.
As for the captured Second Prince Zheng Yu, his obese body finally came in handy at this moment - Qiu Yizi thought that if he was carried, it would inevitably slow down the movement of the entire army, so he had to order Yuchi Jiming to knock him out and throw him into the central army tent.
However, the speed at which the government troops were defeated was far beyond Qiu Yizi's imagination. After walking a few steps, he saw countless government troops retreating in groups of three or two towards the city of Jinling.
Seeing this scene, Qiu Yizhi really hated the 20,000 soldiers under his command. If they had half the fighting power of the old Youyan Army, they might not have lost this battle. But now he was also a defeated general. He had no leisure time and energy to restrain this group of defeated soldiers. He only ordered them to follow behind him and then galloped towards the Sanshan Gate in the west.
Although Qiu Yizi's personal soldiers and militiamen had all changed to horses, some horses were fast and some were slow. The carriage that Wen Lingjiao and Wu Ruofei were riding was even slower. Therefore, although it was time to escape and retreat, Qiu Yizi could not move at full speed and could only move forward slowly.
Qiu Yizi became anxious upon seeing this, fearing that they would be caught up by the high-spirited Lingnan Army. However, he had no better solution and could only sit on his horse and worry.
What you fear will come to pass. After Qiu Yizi led his troops to run a few steps, they heard shouting and killing sounds coming from the front. Looking up, they saw that it was the Lingnan Army coming to attack.
He saw that there were at least three to four thousand soldiers of the Lingnan Army in front of him. He turned around and saw that there were only two to three thousand soldiers around and behind him - most of them were dispirited and defeated soldiers, and only the two hundred people around him were capable of fighting - there was really no way to compete with the opponent, so he could only gallop and try to break through the enemy's blockade.
Although the two hundred cavalrymen beside Qiu Yizi were able to break through the enemy's blockade, the group of soldiers behind him who had been fighting for a whole day did not have such strength and were separated from them by the fast-moving Lingnan Army.
Qiu Yizi wanted to turn back to rescue them, but he saw that the Lingnan Army had surrounded these people and horses. With only 200 men and horses, even if they went in, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg and seeking their own death. So he had to grit his teeth, ignore them, and continue to advance westward.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west and night was gradually falling.
Qiu Yizi raised his eyes and looked forward, and saw the tall and straight tower of Sanshanmen standing in the twilight. He knew that as long as he passed through this gate, he would be out of danger.
But after running a few more steps, he heard a "jiligulu" shouting sound coming from behind him. The sound was sharp and strange, and it seemed like he had heard it before, which made Qiu Yizi couldn't help but turn around on his horse to look back.
It would have been fine if he hadn't looked at it, but when he did, he was shocked.
It turned out that there were four or five hundred shirtless barbarians chasing him. Although their ears and noses were red from the cold wind in the first month of the year in Jiangnan, and they were barefoot, they ran very fast and caught up with the carriage that Wen Lingjiao and Wu Ruofei were riding.
It was the first time for the women in the carriage to see the appearance of the barbarians. They were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they immediately screamed in fear.
This carriage must be saved.
When Qiu Yizi heard the women's cries for help, he immediately turned his horse around to rescue them. However, the barbarians moved very quickly and were about to catch up with the carriage that Wen Lingjiao and the other women were riding in. One of the barbarians who was running in the front suddenly jumped up, put one hand on the corner of the carriage, and was climbing onto it.
Qiu Yizi was shocked when he saw this, and was about to ask Yuchi Jiming to knock the barbarian off the carriage, when suddenly a spear flew from nowhere and hit the barbarian's belly squarely.
The spear was very sharp, and the man who threw it was very strong. The barbarian was hit so hard that his belly was cut open with a gash about a foot long. The liquid in his stomach flowed all over the floor. His hands were weak, and he fell off the bumpy carriage and died on the spot.
When Qiu Yizhi saw this scene, he excitedly exclaimed: "Wu Changxi, what a good trick!"
It turned out that this spear was the weapon used by Wu Changxi. He had a close relationship with Qiu Yi and knew that the women in the carriage were of extraordinary importance. Seeing that the situation was critical, he hurriedly threw the spear in his hand, and it hit the target in one go, thus saving the women in the carriage.
Wu Changxi's attack was successful in a desperate situation, which made him feel quite proud. He was about to talk to Qiu Yizhi, but in the blink of an eye, countless barbarians surrounded him. He didn't have time to say anything more, so he immediately rushed over, pulled out the spear stuck in the body, and fought with the unreasonable barbarians.
The five hundred elite soldiers that Wu Changxi brought out from Mingzhou City were now either dead or scattered, with less than three hundred left, and they were all engaged in a melee with the barbarians.
Seeing that the enemy had many people, Qiu Yizhi immediately urged his personal soldiers to train and wanted to join the battle. However, Wu Changxi, who was fighting hard, shouted loudly: "Master, please retreat quickly. I will resist here!"
Qiu Yizhi was horrified when he heard this. He also saw countless Lingnan soldiers chasing after him. Wu Changxi and his men could not resist them no matter what. He hurriedly said, "No, let's kill the enemy together and then retreat to Nanjing! The enemy has a large number of troops, General Wu, you must not be careless!"
Wu Changxi waved his spear and said, "Master, please retreat! You saved my life, so it doesn't matter if I return it to you!"
When these words came out, tears almost burst out of Qiu Yi's eyes, but if he delayed any longer, he would be surrounded by the enemy. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and said, "Take care, General Wu!" Then he turned his horse's head and continued to advance towards the Sanshan Gate in the west.
Seeing the Sanshan Gate in sight, Qiu Yizi's heart almost jumped out of his chest. He immediately whipped his horse and galloped to the gate, holding the golden medal and arrow and shouting: "I obey your order. Open this gate quickly and let us enter the city!"
The people guarding the city at the gate took action upon hearing the shout, but the mechanism inside the gate made a sound, and it seemed that it would be opened soon. At this time, the rest of the soldiers and horses had escorted the carriage that the women were riding in to the gate, and Wen Lingjiao, Wu Ruofei and others also got off the carriage. They only had to wait for the gate to open a gap as wide as a shoulder, so that they could enter the city safely.