At this time, the injured barracks of the Huai'an Army were almost overcrowded, and Xue Wei and Jiang Ming were just the tip of the iceberg.
Moreover, the injuries of these two people were not very serious. Some of them were seriously injured. Their arms were cut off by Qi Ren, or the bones were chopped off from their thighs by Qi Ren. Some were wailing, and some were unconscious and had high fevers.
At a glance, the wounded barracks looked like a purgatory on earth, with the thick smell of blood almost rushing towards your face.
Shen Yi looked around, feeling a little dazed for a moment.
At this moment, he began to doubt his decision.
Should... we withdraw to Huai'an City in advance? If we withdraw to Huai'an City in advance, will there be fewer deaths and fewer people injured?
The answer is yes.
But if they just stick to Huai'an City and do not defend the Huaihe River, then the Qi people may bypass Huai'an City. By then, whether it is Xiangshui County, Lianshui County, or the prefectures and counties near Huai'an, they may encounter military disasters.
War disasters are far better than natural disasters!
Especially these inhuman Qi people.
Therefore, Shen Yi always thinks about blocking one more block and holding on...
Mr. Shen stood in the wounded barracks and was in a daze for a moment. He didn't know how long it had been before he heard Xue Wei's voice calling him: "Mr. Shen."
Shen Yi finally came to his senses, took two steps, walked to Xue Wei's bed, and squatted down: "What's wrong?"
Xue Wei thought for a while and asked: "I would like to ask, how is the war on the Western Front? Is there a lot of pressure on General Ling?"
Shen Yi exhaled a breath and said: "This time, there are too many people. There is no one in the entire Huai'an defense line who is not under great pressure."
"Ling Su's place is a little better, but the fight is also very hard."
Having said this, Shen Yi sat down on the ground and said: "Fight... fight until tomorrow. If the battle situation does not change tomorrow, we will withdraw to Huai'an City."
"Brothers... we can't die anymore."
When Huai'an was attacked, if we put aside the Forbidden Army as a reserve force, we would have faced almost three times as many enemies. Even if we added the Forbidden Army, we would have faced twice as many enemies!
With such a disparity in military strength, Shen Yi would not only retreat to Huai'an, but even abandon Huai'an and retreat, he would have something to say in court.
Therefore, no matter what he does now, no one can criticize him in court. The only difference is that if he cannot hold on and retreats, the progress of the Northern Expedition may be delayed again.
Xue Wei was silent for a while, then suddenly clenched his fist fiercely.
"Our Da Chen's troops along the Huai River are more than the 30,000 in Huai'an Prefecture!"
"As long as the Huaihe navy can cooperate with us a little, how dare the Qi people attack Huai'an like this!"
When Shen Yi heard this, he snorted but said nothing.
After a while, he patted Xue Wei's uninjured arm and said, "You can rest assured and recover. I will send you back to Huai'an Mansion later. There are many doctors and medicinal materials there, and it is relatively safe."
"Mr. Shen."
Xue Wei said: "Just send your brothers back to the city. I will recuperate in the military camp. I have flesh and skin wounds all over my body. I will be able to go to the battlefield again in a few days."
Shen Yi glanced at this guy and ignored him, but silently left the wounded barracks with his hands behind his back.
Outside the camp, artillery fire was raging.
The soldiers of the Xiangshui camp are still attacking the Qi people who have formed a formation along the Huaihe River. However, the Qi people also have artillery and crossbows. As the Qi people's position grows, the effectiveness of long-range attack methods becomes less and less, so they can only Only by fighting in close combat can you occasionally achieve results.
According to Su Ding's instructions, the remaining relatively complete Qianhu Camps in the Xiangshui Camp are taking turns attacking the enemy's positions.
On the battlefield, the fighting was extremely fierce, and people were dying every moment, with flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Shen Yi watched the battle silently until the afternoon, when the supporting Forbidden Army finally arrived. Meng Lian, the commander of the Forbidden Army, came on horseback and rushed to Shen Yi. He jumped off the horse and half-knelt in front of Shen Yi. He lowered his head and said: "Sir, the Forbidden Army has been ordered to come to help. !”
Shen Yi glanced at the commander of the Forbidden Army and said silently: "The Xiangshui Camp has suffered heavy casualties. Now I need the Forbidden Army to take over. Does General Meng have any objections?"
Meng Lian bowed his head respectfully: "General, I will obey your orders!"
After saying that, he stood up and waved his hand.
Each battalion of the Forbidden Army immediately went to the front line to replace the Huai'an Army officers and soldiers on the front line.
Meng Lian stood in front of Shen Yi, lowered his head slightly and said: "Sir, the Jiankang Forbidden Army has sent an additional 10,000 people to Huai'an. It is estimated that they will be able to arrive in Huai'an the day after tomorrow, and they will be at your disposal."
Shen Yi was stunned and looked at Meng Lian: "General Meng has received an imperial edict?"
Meng Lian shook his head slightly.
"The imperial edict will not be issued to the general, but the imperial army is the emperor's personal army, and it does not necessarily require the court's procedures to call it. The general has already received the news from the peak, and the imperial army has been transferred to Huai'an."
Hearing these words, Shen Yi felt a little more at ease. He nodded and said, "The Imperial Army is here to help. After this battle, no matter how much credit Huai'an has, the Imperial Army will have a share, and the contribution of General Meng is indispensable."
Meng Lian was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately lowered his head: "Thank you, sir!"
He knew in his heart that for the young minister of the Ministry of War in front of him, the Huai'an Army was the direct army, and the Forbidden Army could only be regarded as a "guest army". If the commander of other armies used "guest army", he would usually let the guest army Rush to the front and take the first round of damage.
For example, in the seventh year of Hongde, General Zhao of the Huaihe Navy used up 30,000 imperial troops and only had 10,000 left!
The Lord Shen in front of him, for some unknown reason, had always only used the Forbidden Army as a reserve army. Now he even promised to share the credit, which made Meng Lian feel very grateful.
He clasped his fists at Shen Yi and said loudly: "Sir, the general has also gone to the front line. If anything happens, please send someone to tell the general at any time!"
Shen Yi returned the gift with his hand in hand.
"General Lao Meng."
He exhaled a breath: "After this is over, I will invite the brothers of the Imperial Army to drink."
Meng Lian smiled heartily and responded, then turned around and mounted his horse, running to the front line to find Su Ding to coordinate the battle.
Mr. Shen turned around and returned to the Chinese army's tent, picked up his pen and began to write a short composition for the emperor.
At this time, a short composition must be written. You cannot pretend to be arrogant. You must be miserable when you should be miserable, and you must take credit when you deserve credit.
Otherwise, those brothers in the Huai'an Army would have died in vain.
Even if his death was not in vain, his death was not worth it!
Mr. Shen had just finished writing a short essay when the door of his military tent was opened. Jiang Sheng, panting heavily, walked up to Shen Yi in a few steps, lowered his head and said: "Young Master."
Shen Yi immediately put down his brush and his expression changed slightly.
"What did Zhao Lu say?"
Jiang Sheng swallowed and whispered: "Master, General Zhao said that sooner or later, Master's arrogance will be answered..."
"It should be on the young master himself."
Mr. Shen sneered: "Am I arrogant?"
He patted the table gently and said coldly: "They have lived a good life for too long. As everyone knows, their Zhao family has already become arrogant without limit!"
………………
The next day, the fighting was still intense.
The good news is that with the addition of the Forbidden Army, the pressure on the Huai'an Army has been drastically reduced. With the cooperation of friendly forces, the casualties have also been reduced.
As for the bad news…
The consumption of gunpowder and ammunition was huge, and there was already a shortage of supplies. If the battle continued, not only would the artillery be out of use, but also the arrows for the crossbows would be short. But we really could only pick up the sword and fight hand-to-hand with the Qi people. Got it!
At noon, the Huai'an Army's artillery stopped firing. Mr. Shen slammed the table angrily and ordered Zhao Jizhou to send supplies such as gunpowder and arrows to Xiangshui Camp as quickly as possible. And Lianshui Camp.
In the afternoon, a messenger knelt down in front of Shen Yi in a panic, lowered his head and said: "Mr. Shen, Lianshui Camp, Lianshui Camp!"
Shen Yi stood up, expressionless: "Don't be in a hurry, speak slowly."
The messenger managed to catch his breath and then spoke a complete sentence.
"General Ling reported that there are already five or six thousand Qi people landing at the Lianshui camp. It is difficult to stop the Qi people's landing..."
Shen Yi closed his eyes and waved his hand: "I understand."
When the messengers retreated, Mr. Shen sat alone in the commander's tent and was silent for a long time.
It was not until evening that Shen Yi finally made up his mind. He walked out of the commander's tent and ordered those around him: "Go and call Su Ding!"
Zhu Zhen lowered his head and clasped his fists in response. Just as he was about to go down and call someone, Jiang Sheng hurried over and shouted: "Master, Master, Secretary Luo is here!"
Shen Yi's body trembled. He grabbed Zhu Zhen's clothes and whispered, "Don't go yet."
Then he looked at Jiang Sheng again: "Call Luo Yong in!"
Soon, Luo Yong walked into the handsome tent. He bowed to Shen Yi, his tone unable to conceal his excitement.
"Sizheng!"
Mr. Shen took a breath, grabbed his arm, and asked, "Did they move?"