For the Southern Tang army, the next development was somewhat beyond their expectations.
The Northern Tang Dynasty originally planned to outflank Baling City from the east and west directions. However, within a few days, these troops began to retreat backwards.
In addition, the army in the Jingjiang Camp of the Northern Tang Dynasty originally had scout teams to explore the surrounding areas every day, but now all the patrolling scouts were sent back to the camp.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that something has obviously changed internally in the Northern Tang army, which has the upper hand.
In response to this situation, in Baling City, General General Qi summoned a group of generals together to hold a military meeting.
At the beginning of the military meeting, Xue Nanyang first talked about the current changes in the Northern Tang army.
Some people have suggested that the Tubo and Uighur people were besieging the Northern Tang Dynasty. Could it be that the Liangcheng court issued an imperial edict to Guo Ziyi, asking him to quickly lead troops to return for reinforcements?
Regarding this point of view, Lai Yi did not say a word and just let Xue Nanyang continue talking.
Xue Nanyang: "Just yesterday, some soldiers who were captured in the enemy's Jingjiang camp escaped and returned."
The generals were quite surprised when they heard this.
Xue Nanyang: "The soldiers who escaped brought news that the enemy camp was in panic and chaos. There were constant troop movements in the camp, and tents, baggage, etc. were all being packed up."
A guerrilla lieutenant general in the Southern Tang Army, named Li Tingxiao, stood up and said: "General, there is a fire in the enemy's backyard, and Guo Ziyi has to withdraw his troops to come back for reinforcements. This is a good opportunity for our army to take the opportunity to launch a decisive battle!"
Lai Yi glanced at Li Tingxiao, then turned to Xue Nanyang and asked: "A few days ago, you said that the Tubo people besieged Chang'an and the Uighur people went south to Baiting. Who told you this news?"
Xue Nanyang: "A group of refugees from Guanzhong moved south because of the war in Chang'an. Finally, they met our army's scouts and informed us of the news."
Lai Ai: "Guo Ziyi has long cut off the north-south access. There are checkpoints and sentries on any road. Have you ever thought about why these refugees came here like this?"
Xue Nanyang was speechless for a moment.
Lai Ai: "There are still prisoners who are escaping. No matter how incompetent Guo Ziyi's army is, they will not stop a group of prisoners for no reason. Don't you think this is strange?"
Li Tingxiao stood up at this time and expressed a different opinion: "General, although Guo Ziyi has cut off the north-south roads, it is difficult to block roads such as mountains, lakes, tributaries, etc., so if this group of refugees are lucky enough, they can still
Arriving here; as for the other thing, if Guo Ziyi is ordered to return immediately for reinforcements, then there will be no time to worry about anything else, and it is not impossible for the prisoners to escape. "
Lai Yi looked at Li Tingxiao and shook his head: "Think simply, how can there be so many coincidences in the world?"
Li Tingxiao was born in Prince Bin's palace and was originally a member of the royal family. He himself also married a woman from the Sun family in the south of the Yangtze River. He was also a famous family in the court, so he had the capital to speak and act with arrogance.
He was angry and raised his hands to Lai Yi and said: "General, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If Guo Ziyi's army is let go like this, it will be impossible to find such a good opportunity again!"
Lai Yi said in a deep voice: "The battle of Jiangcheng has just been fought. Our army's available troops, even if we include those left behind in Yuzhang, Changsha and other places, are only 30,000. These 30,000 soldiers are from Jiangnanxi
If these old bases are defeated as the last barrier to the Tao, then the situation in Jiangnan will be completely corrupted."
The meaning of Lai Ai's words is very clear.
In the Northern Tang Dynasty, there were recruiting places for soldiers such as Anxi, Shuofang, Hebei, Hexi, and Guanzhong. An army could be raised at any time and sent to the front line.
But the Southern Tang Dynasty was different. Most of the population in the south had not experienced war, and the soldiers recruited temporarily could not be used at all. The 30,000 troops under Lai Yi could be said to be the last base in the entire Jiangnan.
Laiyi, or the entire Southern Tang Dynasty, simply could not bear the risk of losing these troops.
Therefore, under the current situation, Lai Yi would rather be conservative than attack rashly.
This line of thinking actually makes sense, but for the generals of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who had been suppressed and beaten by the Northern Tang army, it was really frustrating to be unable to avoid the battle.
In his desperation, Li Tingxiao said something a little harsh: "General, when the enemy troops are fleeing, they only think about protecting themselves wisely. This is a crime of fear of war that delays the opportunity for fighting!"
Hearing these words, Lai Yi also got angry: "I am the commander-in-chief of an army, what qualifications do you have to talk to me like this? Come on, drag him down, and beat him with twenty military sticks for disobedience!"
"
When the sergeant lifted him up and dragged him outside, Li Tingxiao looked angry and looked at Lai Ai bitterly, but said nothing.
Seeing Li Tingxiao being punished, the generals in the tent fell silent, and no one dared to speak again.
A few days later, Lai Qi heard in Baling City that Guo Ziyi's army began to break camp and evacuate northward.
After hearing the news, Lai Yi began to wonder, could it be that he was wrong?
Did the Northern Tang court really issue an order for Guo Ziyi to quickly return aid?
Just when Lai Ai's heart was full of doubts, deputy general Xue Nanyang rushed in and said to the former: "General, it's not good!"
When Lai Yi saw this, his heart sank: "What happened?"
Xue Nanyang: "Li Tingxiao, with two thousand soldiers, left the camp without authorization and set out from Junshan, saying that he wanted to ambush the enemy troops heading north in the direction of Chiyuan."
Lai Yi was furious when he heard this. He stood up and cursed: "Shuzi!"
Xue Nanyang advised: "General, Li Tingxiao has been gone for almost an hour. If you send reinforcements now, you can still catch up."
Lai Ai nodded and thought for a while, then said to Xue Nanyang: "Lead a thousand Qingqi and set off to Junshan quickly!"
Xue Nanyang bowed to accept the order and ran out of the door quickly.
Lai Yi looked at Xue Nanyang's leaving figure and sighed deeply.
Half a day later, at dusk, Xue Nanyang led his troops back to camp.
Lai Ai, who had been waiting for a long time, saw this and went down from the tower. He asked Xue Nanyang, who came to return, "How is it? Did you catch up?"
Xue Nanyang had a strange expression: "Reporting to the general, the last general has caught up with Li Tingxiao's army, but..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Lai Yi: "Just what?"
Xue Nanyang: "When the general arrived, the battle was already over. The Northerners fled. Li Tingxiao's troops won a great victory and captured countless items, and even captured a lot of artillery."
Lai Yi was shocked when he heard this.
At this moment, Li Tingxiao's army, pulling dozens of captured carts, marched all the way from the official road to Baling City.
Along the way, the officers and soldiers of the Southern Tang Army cheered one after another, their morale was like a rainbow, and the shouts shook the sky. Even Lai Qi, who was far away at the city gate, could hear clearly.
Lai Yi's face was ashen at this moment, and he was extremely angry.
When Li Tingxiao returned to the city happily, Lai Yi looked at him. Not only did he not say any words of appreciation, but he ordered to the left and right: "Take it down!"
When he was caught by the soldiers and forced to the ground, Li Tingxiao also became angry.
He turned his face sideways and shouted to Lai Yi: "I won the battle and made great achievements, why did you tie me up?!"
Lai Yi said coldly: "According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, those who are good at sending troops will be sentenced to one year for more than ten people, one and a half years for one hundred people, and one and a half years for one thousand people!"
When Li Tingxiao heard this, his face was flustered at first, and then angry, and he shouted loudly: "The general is afraid of the enemy like a tiger. Tingxiao forgets his own death and fights. If the general kills me, the fear will chill the hearts of all the soldiers in the army!"
Lai Yi: "Military law is like a mountain, no need to elaborate! Push him to the city gate and hang him!"
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Xue Nanyang rushed to Lai Qi, knelt down and persuaded: "General Li did violate the military order, but he was also eager to serve the country. For the sake of his sincerity, please spare him the death penalty."
!”
A large group of soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty also knelt down at Lai Ai and begged for mercy, hoping to spare Li Tingxiao from the death penalty.
Lai Yi was silent for a long time, then looked at Li Tingxiao and said: "Since everyone is interceding for you, you can avoid the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living penalty. I will sentence you to eighty military sticks, deprive you of military power, report to the court, and wait for execution."
This chapter has been completed!