"General, in this battle, our army wiped out 4,300 enemies and captured 7,600 prisoners..." It was not until after dark that the post-war results of this battle were reported to Sun Tu. Regarding this data, he did not Not much of a reaction. Although this battle was indeed a great victory, and it was rare to kill ten thousand enemies, it was not much different from his previous prediction.
It wasn't until the soldier reported another key data that Sun Tu and some of the generals around him finally moved: "In addition, our army had 1,523 dead in battle, 920 were seriously injured, and three were slightly injured. One thousand five hundred and twelve people... In addition, generals such as Zhou Tong, Hao Siwen, and Xuan Zan also unfortunately died in this battle."
The data this time was much more accurate than the previous one, and it was actually down to a single person. This made many generals' faces dim in joy. Sun Tu also sighed: "You must be buried well." In addition to these brothers who sacrificed their lives, we must take good care of the injured without any carelessness!"
Although the scale of this battle is not too big, it is tragic enough. This is not only because both sides of the battle are elites of the two armies, but also has a lot to do with the fact that the battle was at night at the beginning. Even a veteran like the Shandong Army is still unfamiliar with night battles, resulting in far greater casualties than imagined. . This is still under the condition that the enemy is suppressed quickly, otherwise, the casualties will only be greater, and even the final victory will not be commendable and gratifying.
The only thing that can reassure people is that the treatment system in the Shandong Army is quite mature now. Not only do they have medical masters like An Daoquan to take charge of the overall situation, but there are also many trained medical soldiers who can treat the injured as soon as possible. This can greatly reduce the number of soldiers who die in vain due to serious injuries.
Sun Tu had already made up his mind to go to the wounded barracks to check it out later, but before that, he still had to take stock of what he had gained after breaking the city. Huzhou is a large city in Zhejiang and a key area for the Wu army. The stores of money, food, weapons, etc. here are also quite rich. This battle was a sudden victory. The enemy did not have time to transport or destroy these supplies. Now they are all cheap. Shandong Army.
Soon, relevant reports were sent over. This time, the harvest was indeed full. The food alone amounted to more than 100,000 dan. As for gold, silver, money, etc., there were several warehouses full. These are not only the gains from the Wu army's hard work over the years, but also the money that the officials of the Song Dynasty exploited from the people. Anyway, these materials are now considered to be captured by the Shandong army as a supplement for their continued march south.
It was not until after listening to this report that Sun Tu finally showed a smile on his face. He looked at the subordinates in front of him who were also smiling and said: "Capturing Huzhou this time has indeed yielded a lot. With my order, we will do it tomorrow." Divide the relevant rewards. Each soldier will receive money based on his performance in killing the enemy, and will increase it as appropriate. Also, brothers who are injured or killed must be given more pensions without any deductions! In addition, the food should be distributed as soon as possible. Let the brothers eat before doing anything else."
Several generals in charge of related matters hurriedly crossed their arms and responded to the order. Although it was getting late, they did not dare to delay and rushed to do the work immediately. Then Sun Tu issued several military orders in succession, some of which were to patrol the city to appease the people, and some of which were to go to various parts of the four cities to guard the city walls and gates. Although Wu Jun suffered an extremely embarrassing defeat this time, it seems unlikely that he will raise more troops in the short term.
, but for safety reasons, corresponding defense work must be done.
Especially in the work of appeasing the people in the city, we must not relax at all. After experiencing several battles and turbulence, there are still 50,000 to 60,000 people in Huzhou. Although they do not pose much of a threat, they are still citizens of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, Sun Tu will do his best to protect their interests.
After all these matters were properly ordered, Sun Tufang took Yue Fei, Tang Feng and several other soldiers to the wounded barracks not far away to check on and express condolences.
This wounded barracks turned out to be an official office, and it occupies a large area, just enough to accommodate many soldiers. Before they even entered the door, Sun Tu and the others heard bursts of wails and screams, which made people feel miserable. Sun Tu's footsteps did not stop, and he entered it in a few steps. All he saw were army officers and soldiers with blood on their bodies and even broken limbs. Even he was frightened at this time and hurriedly walked away. He walked up to a medical soldier who was busy bandaging the wounds of several wounded soldiers and whispered, "Let me help you."
The medical soldier didn't pay much attention to who was behind him at first, so he casually said: "Go and help me change the basin of water." However, the clear water in the basin next to him was already stained red with blood, but he could not free his hand. Change the water. It wasn't until the wounded man in front of him shouted excitedly: "General Sun!" He suddenly shuddered and looked back. Seeing that it was Sun Tu behind him, he was so frightened that he immediately got up to apologize.
But Sun Tu held him down: "Just mind your own business, this is what you should do." After saying that, he bent down and picked up the basin, walked outside and poured it, and then poured it from the side. A basin of water was scooped out from the large vat and brought in.
Seeing that even General Sun was busy treating the wounded, others naturally didn't dare to watch, so they all got busy. Either helping the medical soldiers, or directly helping the wounded to bandage their wounds. This made everyone more energetic, and even the wounded were affected by this, and their painful groans were lighter than before. many.
Sun Tu's performance immediately warmed the hearts of all the soldiers. Many of the wounded were so excited that they shed tears. When he came around, they all wanted to say hello and salute, but he quickly stopped them. Come down and offer condolences and encouragement.
To be honest, the so-called love of soldiers as sons by the generals at this time was reflected in the fact that they did not deduct military rations and pay, and practiced more with the soldiers on weekdays. In wartime, it was rare for generals, especially the chief general of an army, to visit the wounded barracks to express condolences. of the wounded subordinates. As for Sun Tu, who directly helped them heal their injuries, he had never even heard of him, let alone seen him. In this way, these wounded soldiers were naturally deeply moved, and their original sad or despairing mood was greatly improved, because in their view, their general had not given up on them, so they should work harder to cooperate with the treatment and Recover as soon as possible so that you can return to the battlefield and kill the enemy to repay the general's kindness.
Sun Tu did not come here to visit just for show or to inspire the soldiers, but he really wanted to do his best for these injured brothers. And as a soldier after a thousand years, he still has some experience in treating injuries. He actually bandaged and treated several seriously injured people, which made others even more impressed.
It wasn't until An Daoquan, who was still busy inside, came over after hearing the news and tried to persuade him that he finally stopped taking action. But before leaving, he said sincerely
He said to the hundreds of brothers in front of him: "Don't give up on yourself just because you are injured. I believe that most of you will recover soon. In less than ten days and a half, you will be a good man again. As for For those who are really seriously injured, I, Sun Tu, also promise you that as long as I am in the army, I will never abandon you. I will provide for all your future needs in life. I, Sun Tu, have no other merits, but I will definitely keep my word and I will never break my promise!”
These heartfelt words immediately won a burst of cheers from everyone. Everyone's morale was higher, and even the screams of pain were much less. After everything that happened in the wounded barracks today was spread, the entire Shandong Army's respect for Sun Tu reached a whole new level, and with his guarantee, this army will be even more respected on the battlefield. Brave and unstoppable.
When Sun Tu left the wounded barracks, the sky above his head had turned white again, but a brand new day had arrived.
Although he had not rested for two days and nights, and there was a big battle in between, Sun Tu had no intention of sleeping yet. Instead, he summoned Zhu Wu, who was also suffering from red eyes: "The victory report of this battle must be written as soon as possible. It's better to send it to Bianjing and report it to the court." Even though he seemed very courageous and didn't care about anything, he was actually quite stressed in his heart, fearing that the court would really attack him because of Zhu Meng's death. So once I have such a big victory, I want to pass on the good news as soon as possible.
Zhu Wu smiled and said: "General, I have written the victory report, please have a look." After saying that, he handed over a written document dripping with ink.
Sun Tu was stunned for a moment, then laughed and shook his head, receiving the good news: "You should be more careful, military advisor, but I was a little negligent." After saying that, he started to read at a glance with the torch next to him.
Zhu Wuze hurriedly said humbly: "General, I am just doing my duty. You are troubled with everything, so I should share your worries. By the way, I thought we could take advantage of this great victory to ask the imperial court for help." We need some supplements in terms of food, grass and salary, otherwise it will be difficult to go south, so I mentioned a few words in the good news."
Sun Tu had quickly read the good news, and nodded after hearing this: "You thought well. Although we can buy grain from the north and seize a lot from Huzhou, there are still some shortcomings in the end, so let's go with what you said. After saying that, he handed the good news to Tang Feng: "You will send someone to deliver it to the capital immediately without delay!"
Tang Feng hurriedly accepted the order and strode away. Sun Tu looked at Zhu Wu again: "Military advisor, I thought we would stop going south, but the pressure on the rebels cannot be reduced, so we must send some people out to spread the previous message again. , what do you think?"
"The general is wise, this method is the most appropriate. How about letting some brothers from the scout camp make this trip?" Zhu Wu hurriedly agreed. Dealing with the enemy is not only on the battlefield, but we cannot relax in propaganda.
Sun Tu nodded, and then gave some more instructions. It wasn't until daybreak that he finished the rest of the instructions. It was only at this time that he was able to relax and sleep in the house that had been prepared for him.
On July 26, the fourth year of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty, the Shandong Army retook Huzhou, and the offensive and defensive momentum between the Song and Wu armies was completely reversed!