As a rare handsome talent among the Wu army, Pang Wanchun is indeed outstanding. Judging the direction of the current situation is only one aspect. What is more important is that he has the decisiveness to take it and let it go. When he saw that Suzhou could no longer be taken in a short time, he immediately decided to withdraw his troops.
When the follow-up troops finally arrived, the first military order they received was to set off immediately and head south. Faced with such a military order, although many people in the Wu army found it difficult to accept it, the vast majority of the soldiers were secretly happy. Without much delay, they followed the order and retreated south as quickly as possible.
This head-on confrontation with the Shandong Army was indeed a big blow to the elite Wu Army, both in casualties and in the weakening of self-confidence. In the past, they thought they could easily defeat the corrupt and incompetent Song Dynasty official army, but at this time, the whole army no longer had such an idea, and many people even had some timidity in their hearts. At this time, Pang Wanchun could It was in line with the wishes of all the soldiers to abandon Suzhou and stop fighting and return south.
Of course, as the commander-in-chief of the Wu Army, Pang Wanchun had much more detailed and long-term considerations than his subordinates. Although abandoning Suzhou will have a big blow to the entire Wu Kingdom, it is much better than being dragged to death here and losing troops and generals in the end and still being unable to capture the city. At the same time, he also had to make corresponding preparations for the next war. He had to mobilize all the soldiers and horses in the country to defend the city at key points. The next battle between them and the Song Dynasty would probably become more intense and difficult.
His choice was undoubtedly extremely wise and timely, because just after the entire army retreated dozens of miles south, the Shandong Army, which had been defending Changshu before, came from the rear. After confirming that the Wu army had not set up an ambush along the road, the Shandong army marched at a very slow pace and arrived at the foot of Suzhou City only half a day later than the Wu army who had set off first. When the soldiers saw the flag of the Song Dynasty flying at the top of the city and the celebration scene on the city, they were not only relieved, but also full of admiration for Sun Tu.
"Qian Ju, this time my subordinates are really convinced by you. We were thinking that there would be a fierce battle after we arrived in Suzhou, but unexpectedly the rebels were frightened by your might and directly attacked Yuan Dunan escaped!" After entering the city and seeing Sun Tu, Dong Pingping's subordinates couldn't help but admire him.
"That's just a fluke. Thanks to the concerted efforts of everyone in Suzhou City, especially the gentry and merchants in the city. If they hadn't generously donated money and inspired the people's morale and military morale, even if I had three heads and six arms, I still wouldn't have been able to repel the 100,000 rebels." Sun Tu's He was in a good mood. After a few words of humility, he pulled the businessmen out to meet his subordinates.
These businessmen are also sensible people. After seeing these Shandong army generals, they naturally praised them for a while. Then they spent a lot of money again and set up flowing banquets in the city to entertain the Shandong soldiers who came from afar. They won the victory in one fell swoop. Everyone's favor. I thought that there might be some unfamiliarity between the two parties due to geographical customs and other reasons, but this time there was no trace of it.
After the enemy was gone, the city naturally had a good time to celebrate. Sun Tu also knew that it was not easy for the soldiers to fight bloody battles during this period, so he did not stop him. Anyway, the Wu army had retreated far south, and Suzhou was absolutely safe at this time. As long as a few hundred people are sent to guard the city, others can participate in this lively and sumptuous celebration banquet.
This celebration banquet continued until the end of the moon, and it was still going on. However, as the commander-in-chief, Sun Tu cannot always indulge in pleasure.
, and soon called Dong Ping to ask about the situation of the battle in Changshu: "How is it? Will the rebel offensive be fierce after that? What about our casualties? Also, I have not seen Peng Yongzhen today, and he went again Where?"
Hearing him ask about the past, the joy on Dong Ping's face completely disappeared. With a look of fear on his face, he detailed the hard battles that took place in Changshu in the past few days: "In the past few days, the rebels did not hesitate to do anything. The enemy attacked our city of Changshu fiercely. If the soldiers had not fought tooth and nail to defend the city, the city had changed hands several times and we had finally managed to hold it down. However, our casualties were also extremely heavy. A rough estimate is that more than 5,000 soldiers were killed on the spot, and many more were injured. There are nearly ten thousand people... As for Peng Yongzhen, he is dead!" At this point, his expression was a bit complicated, with both worry and anger.
"Huh? What's going on?" Sun Tu saw that there must be a hidden secret, so he asked in a deep voice.
Dong Ping lowered his voice and said: "Actually, if he hadn't restrained us from the side, our army's casualties would not have been so serious. Just because he was greedy for life and afraid of death, and wanted to preserve the strength of the Huainan Army, he actually attacked the northern city when the rebels Leading the army to retreat, resulting in a group of rebels marching into the city.
"Fortunately, we were prepared early in the morning and hurriedly put the last reserve team into the defensive battle in Beicheng. We just barely managed to repel the enemy, but the casualties also increased greatly. But during this battle, Peng Yongzhen was in chaos. If you are killed in the army, you really deserve to die!"
Sun Tu glanced at Dong Ping thoughtfully. There were still many problems and untruths in his statement. As the commander-in-chief of the Huainan Army, Peng Yongzhen could have escaped even if the city was really captured, but now he died in a confused manner in the battle? I'm afraid he died from a surprise attack from behind by his own family!
But even if he saw some problems, Sun Tu had no intention of going into details. He had no good impression of Peng Yongzhen at all. Just because he was willing to be used by Zhu Meng to manipulate winter clothes and quilts before, he was already Sun Tu's enemy. Later, he was forced to cooperate with him due to the situation.
After learning about the bitter battle in Changshu, Sun Tu was naturally even more angry with Peng Yongzhen. He didn't vent his anger until he learned that he was dead. Immediately, he thought of a key point: "What about the Huainan Army under his command?"
"The Huainan Army has been restrained by the lower ranks for the time being. Because of this, Beicheng has been able to defend undefeated since then."
"That is to say, the Huainan Army has now been merged into our Shandong Army!" A glimmer of light flashed in Sun Tu's eyes. This time going south, the Shandong Army suffered a lot of casualties, but if it could swallow up the Huainan Army entirely, even if their combat power was not very strong, it would be a great addition to their own army. As long as the training is stepped up, over time, the strength of the Shandong Army will be improved.
The decision was made, and he did not ask any more questions about the Huainan Army. He just said approvingly: "Your performance this time is very good. I think it won't be long before you can take my place as the commander-in-chief of the Shandong Army."
"Qian Jia is so complimentary. He is far from a humble position." Dong Ping hurriedly said modestly, and then told him about the previous disagreements between Song Jiang and himself: "I believe that if Qian Jia was there, he Song Gongming would I would never dare to make the decision without permission."
"Hey, Song Jiang still has selfish motives after all, and he values brotherhood too much. But your performance is already very good. If you can withstand the pressure this time, you will be much better than before." Sun Tu nodded to him with satisfaction again.
Dong Ping also felt the same in his heart.
He was overjoyed, and then asked: "I wonder what Qianjia's next plan is? Are we going to continue going south?"
"We can't go south any further, otherwise we will go deep alone and suffer heavy losses." Sun Tu had already planned: "During this period, our army has been fighting hard, with huge casualties, and the soldiers are already exhausted. Now that we have captured Suzhou, we should rest here and wait for the army from behind to arrive, and then discuss how to go south to defeat the thieves."
"I understand."
"In addition, during the next period of stationing in Suzhou, what you have to do is to make good friends with the businessmen and gentry here. Also, you must not disrupt military discipline, and you must not do anything to disturb the people." Sun Tu solemnly ordered again, this is The key point he had to emphasize every time he visited was that he did not want the Shandong Army to be regarded as a scourge by the people.
"Yes, I will definitely convey Qian's message to this humble position, and I will strictly enforce military discipline."
The two of them discussed various matters about guarding Suzhou in this way, and then they dispersed until the sky became slightly brighter.
Before leaving, Dong Ping thought of something else: "Qian Ju, this time we captured Changshu and Suzhou. I wonder what the reaction from Jinling will be. Then will Zhu Meng force us to continue going south? What will he do? Will you lead your troops here?"
"This is where he has been operating for many years. As long as he knows that Suzhou has fallen into my hands, he will definitely come here in time. I will also wait for him here. It's time to put an end to some things!" Sun Tu said casually As he spoke, a frightening murderous intention flashed through his eyes.
Dong Ping caught this keenly, his heart skipped a beat, but he didn't say anything more. At least now that everything is under control, it's time to relax and enjoy this rare moment of peace.
Not only did he have such thoughts, but the exhausted Shandong Army also fell asleep soundly after the banquet. During this period of time, they had indeed worked too hard and had not slept at all.
However, some people in the city still felt uneasy at this time. After seeing that the Shandong Army had completely taken control of Suzhou, several businessmen became a little uneasy again.
"Brother Su, do you think General Sun will really keep his word and even help us get rid of Zhu Meng, our biggest scourge?"
"What, you still don't believe it now? Could Mr. Xie lie to us?"
"But he is also a court official after all...Does he really dare to do such a thing?"
"I have already inquired about it. Not only General Sun, but also the officers and men under his command hate Zhu Meng to the core!" Su Mao seemed quite calm, and then relayed the news he had learned during the toast.
Speaking of which, every lieutenant general of the Shandong Army really wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin, because everyone had already understood that the reason why they were in the desperate situation of Changshu was because of Zhu Meng!
Wu Jun was certainly hateful, but in comparison, Zhu Meng, who plotted against them and caused thousands of brothers to die in battle, was obviously more guilty. Now, as long as Sun Tu gives the order, they dare to turn around and go back to Jinling, and chop this bastard corrupt official on the spot!
After hearing this explanation, everyone felt relieved, but at least before Zhu Meng was killed, they still did not dare to completely believe Sun Tu.
Everything depends on when Zhu Meng returns to Suzhou...