The so-called Little General Wei was none other than Wei Chang who was guarding Gaodu City.
Gaodu City is related to the retreat of Wei Yan's army. When he heard the urgent message from his son Wei Chang, Wei Yan's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't care that there were so many people in front of him, so he just grabbed the letter from the guard's hand with a bang.
He couldn't wait to tear it apart in half, then reacted and ordered:
"Take a break for now and stand by!"
After saying that, he hurriedly walked to a deserted place, took out the letter, and glanced at it for the first time. Even though Wei Yan had seen strong winds and waves, his hands could not help but tremble!
"impossible!"
Before Wei Yan could read the contents of the letter, he became furious: "Absolutely impossible!"
He kneaded the letter into a ball and squeezed it so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand popped out.
Heavy breathing, huffing and puffing, like a cow panting.
The originally maroon face turned white first, then green, and then turned blood red.
"The traitor!"
Wei Yan finally squeezed out these two words from between his teeth.
There were not many words in the letter, but almost every word struck Wei Yan's heart:
"The thieves are strong, but the general has few soldiers. The city cannot be defended. According to the general's instructions, we are preparing to retreat to Gaoping Pass."
My order?
Is this the meaning of my instructions?
How many days have you been guarding for this?
A few days!
waste!
Wei Yan gritted his teeth and tore the letter into pieces.
"After following me for so many years, you can't even defend such a dangerous place as Gaodu City. What use do you have!"
Once Gaodu City is lost, Gaoping Pass will be the last resort.
But if even Gaodu City cannot be defended, can Gaoping Pass be defended?
Thinking of this, Wei Yan couldn't help laughing angrily. When he laughed at the end, his voice sounded like a night owl:
"Hahaha……"
The guards looked at the prince who suddenly seemed to have gone crazy, and they were all frightened.
Don't know what happened.
The guard captain who was pushed over bravely asked:
"Junhou?"
After Wei Yan finished laughing, he hooted twice, with a dull expression on his face. He could only hear his instructions:
"Send the order to have all the soldiers come back."
"Retreating?"
After receiving the news, Wang Han and Wen Shi couldn't believe their ears.
He actually retreated at the critical moment?
Wang Han, who was always paying attention to the battlefield, scratched his fingers in his palms and felt that the palms of his hands were still wet with sweat.
Seeing that the engineering battalion was about to be forced into action, he was prepared to disobey the order if things got out of hand. Didn't he expect that the front troops would suddenly retreat?
Could this be... God helping me?
"what happened?"
"I don't know. After General Zuo Hussar ordered the troops to retreat, he sent someone over to invite the two generals to discuss matters."
"Meetings?"
Hearing this word, Wang Han and Wen Shi's hearts suddenly lifted.
Could it be that he thought wrongly and that General Zuo Hussar would force the engineering battalion to go into battle now?
But……
That's not right either.
When it comes to the engineering camp, Wen Shi always takes the initiative.
It was never said that even Wang Han, the guard captain, would have to go there.
With this in mind, the two of them came to the commander's camp a little confused and a little uneasy.
After entering the commander's camp, I realized that all the generals in the army seemed to have been called over.
"Everyone is here?"
After hearing this voice, Wang Han subconsciously looked up.
But when I saw the person sitting behind Shuai Gu, it was definitely Wei Yan.
It's just that the voice is no longer as loud and full of energy as usual.
Instead, there was a hint of exhaustion in his hoarseness.
I don't know if it was Wang Han's misunderstanding, but he felt that Wei Yan looked a little defeated at this time, his energy and spirit were completely gone, and even his body shape had collapsed?
"Your Majesty, everyone is here."
Wei Yan nodded and stood up.
Wang Han couldn't help but take another look.
It was unmistakable. At this time, Wei Yan no longer had the aggressive aura he had in the past.
This has never been seen before in Wei Yan.
"I called you here because there is something I want to tell you."
Wei Yan didn't delay too much and said straight to the point:
"I have the trust of the emperor and am the governor of two important places in Hedong and Shangdang. I want to lead you to show your strength and achieve great achievements."
"I didn't expect that the thief was so cunning and vicious that he didn't dare to confront me head-on, but he used a trick to take away Shangdang."
Having said this, Wei Yanchang let out a long breath, glanced at everyone, opened his mouth, and stopped talking.
But in the end he still said with some difficulty:
"I was careless and betrayed His Majesty's trust..."
Having said this sentence with difficulty, Wei Yan felt as if half his life had passed away.
He deliberately did not look at the people below and continued speaking hastily:
"So in order to save the war in Shangdang, I led the troops back to the division. I wanted to take advantage of the bandits' unstable foothold and retake Shangdang."
"However, the thieves were well prepared. We fought hard for several days. Seeing that the city is in sight, no one expected to defend it..."
After hearing this, everyone finally started to make a commotion.
Gaodu City is lost?
"General, if Gaodu is lost, the army's retreat will be in danger!"
Someone couldn't help but said.
Wei Yanchang sighed: "How could I not know? That's why I'm calling you here."
"My original intention is to capture the eldest son. In this way, I can advance to threaten Huguan, and retreat to occupy the city and defend it, waiting for reinforcements."
"Who would have expected that Gaodu City would fall at this time..." As he spoke, Wei Yan couldn't help but become a little angry, "This is like God not helping me!"
The generals were silent.
Capture the eldest son and defend the city.
Perhaps that's why General Zuo Hussar had such confidence.
In the past few months, the army first attacked Gaodu, and then returned to attack the eldest son.
The casualties were not unbearable.
Even the most elite soldiers cannot withstand such torture.
If not for the soldiers below, many of them were brought out by the general over the years.
I'm afraid that people's hearts have been wandering for a long time and they have begun to think about quitting.
"So what are the general's plans now?"
"The eldest son can no longer stay for long, so I decided to divide the army into two parts. One part will go to Gaoping Pass first to join Wei Chang."
"The remaining one will be led by me personally as the successor."
Wang Han couldn't help but look at Wen Shi, with surprise in their eyes.
They did not expect that Wei Yan, who had always wanted to capture his eldest son regardless of casualties, would retreat so decisively.
Many people in the tent had hidden expressions of joy on their faces.
"General, now that the soldiers are tired and war-weary, it may not be a bad idea to retreat to Gaoping Pass to rest."
Seeing the reactions of everyone in the tent, Wei Yan didn't say anything on the surface, but there was a surge of sadness in his heart.
Not to mention that the soldiers below are tired of war, I am afraid that even the generals are thinking of retreating.
In this battle, it is difficult to reverse the situation.
Wei Yan was thinking in his mind, and gave a few random instructions, leaving a few of his confidants behind.
The rest were allowed to go back and reorganize the army and withdraw at any time.
After the others exited, the few people left behind looked around, and one of them stood up:
"Your Majesty, with just our few men and horses, if the thieves really come out of the city to chase after the eldest son, I'm afraid..."
"What are you afraid of? I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"
Wei Yan seemed to have anticipated their reaction and said, "Even if the thieves catch up, I will be the first one to rush forward."
"Junhou?!"
Several people were startled, and they all had ominous thoughts in their hearts.
Wei Yan turned around, returned to the handsome man and sat down, his face seemed to become older in an instant, and he only heard him say slowly:
"Shangdang was lost. I first betrayed the emperor's trust, and then I made the soldiers exhausted and died innocently."
"This time I want to take the initiative to cut off the rear, just to allow the remaining soldiers to reach Gaoping Pass safely. This can be regarded as the last thing I do for them."
When Wei Yan said this, he raised his head and said to them:
"You are all old brothers who have followed me for many years. The people under my command are also my most trusted soldiers."
"You go back and tell them that after this break, there will be more misfortunes and I will not force them."
"It would be best if they are willing to stay. If they are concerned about their family members, they can also return to Gaoping Pass first."
Several confidants were immediately shocked and quickly expressed their loyalty:
"How can you say this? Since you say that we are old brothers and the last general, how can you abandon you? You will definitely follow the general to the death."
When you join the army, you should be mentally prepared to die in battle.
Charge into battle, be the first to capture the flag, and then take cover... there will always come a day.
But this time, in private, it was to accompany the princes in battle, and in public, it was to fight for the country.
What's there to be afraid of?
"Okay, okay!"
Wei Yan's face showed some relief, "If that's the case, then if we all work together, why should we be afraid of thieves?"
After all, Wei Yan could be regarded as a veteran general in the army who knew the soldiers well. Wei Chang's letter was like a basin of cold water, completely waking him up from the edge of losing his mind.
Wei Yan, who calmed down again, began to arrange the withdrawal of troops in an orderly manner.
Sun Li, Guo Xun and others, who had been waiting for the Han army to attack the city, quickly climbed to the city to wait and see after discovering that the offensive on the other side suddenly stopped.
When Sun Li saw the movements of the Han army, his heart tightened:
"No! Wei Yan is about to retreat!"
"Could it be that the rebel army was exhausted and Wei Yan knew that he could not attack the eldest son, so he retreated?"
Although Guo Xun followed Wei Yan in the army for a long time, he never personally led the army into battle.
At this time, we can see signs that Wei Yan is retreating, but no more information can be seen:
"Should we go in pursuit?"
When Sun Li heard this, he pondered for a moment:
"I see that the rebels are retreating in an orderly manner, busy but not chaotic. They are not retreating in panic. They must have broken up the rear army."
"But if we just watch the thieves retreat like this, I'm afraid it will damage the morale of the army again."
The rumor that Shu is as fearful as a tiger has been circulating in Guanzhong for many years in the early years.
Now that he finally had a chance to win the game, it was impossible for Sun Li to show fear at this time.
I just heard him say:
"Mr. Guo, please guard the city until I lead the army to test it myself."
When Guo Xun heard that Sun Li was going to lead the army in person, he couldn't help but remind him:
"Wei Yan is a rare and powerful general among thieves. Although he is defeated this time, he should not be underestimated. General Sun still has to be careful."
Sun Li nodded:
"Thank you sir for reminding me, I will be careful."
After saying this, Sun Li went down to the top of the city, ordered his troops and horses to fight out of the city.
"Your Majesty, the thieves are chasing us out of the city!"
"Well, I saw it."
Wei Yan led his army and reined in their horses and stood by the moat.
In front of him was the passage that many soldiers had spent their lives to fill in the past few days.
Behind him were three thousand elite Han troops standing in formation.
After Sun Li led the army out of the city, he did not dare to advance easily.
While he ordered the Wei army to form a formation in the city, with the infantry in the middle, he also specially ordered thousands of cavalry to surround the two wings.
Then someone was sent forward to ask who was blocking the road.
When he found out that Wei Yan was personally leading the army to cut off the rear, Sun Li suddenly broke into a cold sweat and sent someone to say:
"Wei Junhou, are you planning to retreat? Didn't you say you want to destroy the eldest son's city?"
Wei Yan sneered and asked someone to reply:
"I am still leading the army here, why should I retreat?"
After Sun Li was sure that Wei Yan personally led the army to defeat the enemy, he suddenly became suspicious when he saw the neat array of Han troops on the other side of the moat.
Wei Yan is the leader of the rebel army, and he actually leads the army on the opposite side. Doesn't he want to retreat?
He couldn't figure it out, so he didn't dare to send troops forward easily.
Guo Xun on the top of the city could see clearly that except for the men and horses left in formation, most of the remaining Han troops had withdrawn far away.
When he saw that Sun Li was still holding back his troops, he quickly sent someone to tell Sun Li:
"General Sun, most of the bandit army has moved far away!"
When Sun Li learned about it, he couldn't hold it any longer and began to mobilize his troops to overwhelm him.
When Wei Yan saw this, he laughed:
"Traitor, I can't attack the city and ask for a fight. I didn't expect you to come to my door now!"
"Come on, let me see how capable you are!"
"Prepare!"
The Han army's crossbowmen made a "cw" sound and tightened the strings of their bows and crossbows.
Wei Jun began to run forward in small steps.
"put!"
"Puff!"
Naturally, the rain of arrows fired by a thousand crossbowmen was not dense enough.
Some of the infantry at the front of the Wei army fell down, but more of them continued to charge forward.
At the same time, because Guo Xun at the top of the city sent timely information about the Han army's formation, Sun Li quickly sent his cavalry to outflank the two flanks.
Wei Yan raised his telescope and saw Wei Jun's intention.
He sneered, handed the binoculars to the bodyguard beside him, and ordered:
"destroyed."
When the bodyguard heard this, he trembled slightly, but he didn't say much, he just said "Here".
If you are in a desperate situation, you will not be able to escape from your worries, and the most important weapons in the army must be destroyed.
This is the rule in the Han army.
Telescopes are important tools.
Your Majesty, you are ready to fight to the death!
"Put it back!"
The second wave of arrows was less violent than the first wave.
The third wave...
By the fourth wave, there were no more missing arrows, only arrow feathers.
The whistle sounds again.
The crossbowmen retreated into the formation, put down their crossbows, and picked up their weapons.
At this time, shouts of death could be heard from the front.
Wei Yan raised his long sword and clamped it into the horse's belly, his eyes burning with fighting intent:
"Come on, thief!"
"Junhou!"
"Follow up!"
"kill!"
The two armies collided fiercely at the foot of Changzi City.
Encouraged by the general's personal participation in the battle, the Han army's morale was extremely high. The Wei army rushed forward. The formation was slightly messy, and some of them were killed by missing arrows earlier.
Facing the attack of the Han army, the front of the Wei army was scattered in an instant.
"Death to the thief!"
Wei Yan waved his sword and stirred into the formation. Wherever the blade passed, blood lines floated up!
