In front are tens of thousands of fierce and terrifying enemy troops that are pouring in like a tide; behind, their own food and grass are burning, and the red fire and black smoke have stained the entire sky. This unprecedented terrible, even desperate situation quickly reduced the fighting spirit of the Song army.
The fighting spirit of the soldiers has reached its lowest point. When countless people see the enemy attacking madly, their first reaction is to run away quickly in order to save their lives. The consequence of this was that the previously solid defensive formation in front had been torn apart. The Wu army easily broke into it and caused massive casualties. The layers of defense fell apart in a short period of time.
The Wu army's continuous intrusion made the Song army officers and soldiers even more frightened. From this, a vicious circle emerged. The Song army of nearly 100,000 people was about to be defeated by 70,000 to 80,000 people. At this moment, a general covered in blood rushed back to the three generals who were also hesitant: "General, retreat quickly, otherwise you won't be able to leave..."
Ren Shifan was already panicking at this time and nodded immediately: "Yes, retreat quickly and go back to Lin'an to defend. We still have a chance to make a comeback. Otherwise, the casualties will be even greater."
"No, we have finally reached this point. How can we run away just because of this setback? Kill him. If anyone dares to retreat, I will kill him with my own hands!" Zhang Gun put his hands on his hands. With a raised eyebrow, he suddenly pulled out his sword, pointed the tip of the sword at the subordinate and threatened him loudly. He was really unwilling to retreat like this.
Xu Shen, on the other hand, had deeper concerns: "If we really withdraw at this time, will we be able to hold on? The rebels will definitely not let us go easily. Once we retreat and the morale of the military completely collapses, what will happen to us?" The fish and meat on the chopping board are left to be chased by the rebels! We must first repel their wave of offensive and then retreat steadily! Pass our military order, mobilize the central and rear army troops to press forward, and make the final battle with the rebels. Fight!"
An army has three masters, and the serious problem of no one being able to suppress the other emerged again at this critical moment. The three generals had their own ideas. In fact, from the overall perspective, Xu Shen's idea was the safest. However, he was unable to convince the other two in a short time. They were still arguing endlessly. One wanted to retreat and the other wanted to advance. The situation He just froze.
On the battlefield, everything is changing rapidly, and there is no time for them to fight for the final result. Just when the Chinese army had not yet reached a conclusion, the front line of defense finally collapsed completely. The Wu army had already moved towards the most eye-catching general's flag here. They were still some distance away. Countless arrows had already shot through the air. One of them The sharp arrow went straight to Zhang Gun's face.
"General, be careful!" A man next to him, with quick eyes and quick hands, hurriedly stepped forward and slashed out, just in time to knock off the sharp arrow. But then, he who had taken over the position was hit by the arrow that followed, and he screamed. Then he fell down.
When this bloody scene of life and death appeared in front of him, and after seeing his cronies killed in an instant, Zhang Gun's expression suddenly changed, and then, the fighting spirit that had not been shaken before instantly shattered. Rough and impulsive, he is not a brave and fearless person at all. When he is in charge of the central army and commanding his men to fight, he can ignore everything, but when danger appears around him, fear has completely replaced everything.
. Without any further thought, he decisively ordered: "Retreat, retreat quickly!"
Ren Shifan was overjoyed when he heard this: "Yes, you can still preserve your strength by retreating quickly. Don't hold on any longer, otherwise the casualties of the soldiers will be too great." As he said that, he looked at the messenger next to him, indicating that the other party could The order to retreat has been issued.
"You two can't. If we retreat hastily at this time, the whole army will be in chaos. By then we will have no power to fight back!" Only Xu Shen remained awake and made the final effort. But his words were not recognized by the other two at all, and Ren Shifan even replied directly: "General Xu, if you are really worried, why not let your Gyeonggi Road soldiers cover you from behind, and we will lead the troops and retreat first..."
"You..." Xu Shen almost broke his nose with anger. Unexpectedly, I had good intentions and wanted to save the army, but I was treated like this. I was really angry and helpless. At the same time, I also understood in my heart that no matter how I tried to persuade them, it was impossible for these two people to accept the idea of holding on for a while longer: " Retreat, let the whole army retreat quickly, don't make any entanglements, and return to Lin'an first!" At this point, he was powerless to turn around, and could only pray for God's blessing, and the rebel army would not bite him.
Three armies, three generals, but it is difficult to unify the three thoughts. At this critical juncture of life and death, the biggest problem of the Song Dynasty official army was completely exposed. Even if they had the most reasonable countermeasures, they were abandoned due to their own selfish motives and could only follow the most wrong path. Running away.
When the order to retreat was given, the Song army collapsed completely. Everyone lost the courage to resist. When faced with the charging Wu army, they all turned around and ran away. Even the few who still wanted to resist the enemy's offensive were restrained by their comrades in front, left and behind, unable to do so. In the end, he could only go with the flow and run away in confusion.
After seeing this scene, Wu Jun was even more morale-motivated and roared loudly: "Kill, the Song army is defeated! Kill them all and avenge our dead brothers!" All of them were just ordinary people a few years ago. At this time, all the soldiers of the Wu army turned into bloodthirsty beasts, constantly chasing the fleeing Song army in front. As long as they caught up with them from behind, they would chop them into pieces with a knife, and they would be cut into pieces and die tragically in the blink of an eye.
If the Song army had resisted strongly, they might have been able to withstand this wave of onslaught, but now that they have completely given up the frontal battle, they would be fighting for their own good, and the number of casualties would keep rising. Countless people were killed and injured on the way to escape. He even abandoned his weapons and knelt on the ground, surrendering to the Wu army.
Fang Shifo, who was charging at the front of the team, was even more excited. He laughed loudly and kept riding his horse to chase the enemy in front. The hammers in his hands were already stained red with blood, and his whole head, face and body were also covered with a dark red. Looking at Just like a blood gourd. But this still did not stop his killing. He pursued and killed with all his strength, heading straight towards the most eye-catching banners of the Song generals, vowing to keep all these Song generals.
It was only at this time that the three generals fully understood how big of a mistake they had made. But at this time, the fighting spirit of the entire army was completely gone. Everyone would just run for their lives. Even if they desperately called for a stop, they would not be able to resist such an attack. The Wu army was chasing them like wolves and tigers. So all they can do at this time is to continue running for their lives, no matter what the situation is around them, they just want to escape the enemy.
Chase.
The troops and horses from both sides chased and fled, and soon they were more than ten miles away. It was only then that Pang Wanchun recovered from the shock. To be honest, even he did not expect that the Song Army would be so vulnerable and defeated so simply. Fang La finally put down the drumstick in his hand and laughed loudly: "Okay, our army's victory in this battle will definitely boost the morale and power of the army, and it will no longer be difficult to regain the lost territory!"
Pang Wanchun did not answer his question, but frowned and made the final balance. At this point in the battle, victory was a foregone conclusion, and now what he had to consider was how far this great victory should go. Are you just satisfied that you have severely damaged the Song army, or are you trying to keep them completely in Hangzhou
If it is the former, there is no need to do anything else, just wait and see Fang Shifo lead his army to pursue; but if you want to completely annihilate this Song army, you must quickly use the ambush troops in front. As long as these ambush soldiers suddenly come out to intercept, even if they cannot completely annihilate the Song army, it will be enough to cause more than half of their casualties. It is considered lucky to have three men and horses to escape.
If you choose the former, you will let the tiger go home. Pang Wanchun knew very well that after experiencing this disastrous defeat, the Song army would definitely learn a lesson and would be extremely cautious in the future. Especially when the leader of the army was replaced by Sun Tu, it would be even more difficult to achieve such a great victory today. However, if he chooses the latter, the problem is not small. He only has so many trump cards. Once they are all exposed, there will be no secrets left in his future confrontation with Sun Tu. And in his heart, Sun Tu is the most terrifying opponent. .
Not long after these two thoughts circulated in Pang Wanchun's mind, he had already made a decision: "Send three loud arrows and let the soldiers and horses in Huangsong Valley attack and cut off the Song army's path. Other soldiers and horses must not move rashly!" In the end, he What they came up with was a compromise plan, which did not reveal all their trump cards, but was enough to create great difficulties and troubles for the Song Army.
The soldiers of the Song Army, who were as panic-stricken as a bereaved dog, showed that they were quite good at escaping for their lives. When faced with the pursuit of countless enemies from behind, everyone ran away like crazy. The queue was no longer there, but the speed was completely increased. Especially when some of the slower-running soldiers fell behind and the Wu army had to stop and fight, the distance between them and the enemy finally continued to widen. In the end, even the arrows could not hurt anyone, and they could only Left behind…
Wang Gan, the general of Jingnan Road who was galloping in front of the team, breathed a sigh of relief at this time. At least for now, their safety has been guaranteed. Presumably the enemy should also understand the principle of not pursuing the enemy when he is in trouble, and will not pursue him to the end. Maybe he can escape as long as he passes through the valley in front.
There were many soldiers around who were thinking the same thing. Many of them even thought of the Shandong Army that they had despised before, and of General Sun Tusun who could always lead his troops to victory. Maybe he should have listened to what they said before. , who stayed in Huzhou obediently, so that he would not suffer such a defeat and almost die here. It seems that after I return, I will have to change my original view...
Just when everyone was feeling excited and full of expectations, a horn suddenly sounded from the high ground on both sides of the front. As the flags were spread, countless soldiers and horses rushed out from both sides, instantly blocking the entrance to the valley...