The officers and soldiers of both sides, who had been fighting fiercely for a hundred days, unanimously suspended the fighting.
Except for a small number of troops on guard, most of them fell asleep from exhaustion.
At this time, Xiang Jiajun had already prepared and quietly retreated to the north gate under the cover of night.
Xiang Yang was protected by the sergeants in the center of the team and rushed out towards the north gate.
Some of the cannon fodder abandoned by them still stayed in the city without any knowledge.
However, many things often do not go as smoothly as they imagined.
Just when Xiang Yang led his elite lineage and quietly left towards the north gate.
A cannon fodder soldier who deserted in the middle of the night was standing in the dark, watching all this nervously.
Seeing them leaving in a hurry, the soldier suddenly became confused and thought to himself... Could it be that the young marshal and the others have a new tactic?
But why did the baggage train and the cook also follow?
Moreover, this team is disorganized and looks like... why is it so much like a retreat?
This soldier was also a veteran for many years, and he immediately became suspicious.
Seeing this, he hurried back and went to his superior to report the matter.
When the officer heard this, he also became vigilant.
Their team was originally a merger of the local garrison battalion and patrol battalion in Pingyang County.
This is one of the most miscellaneous troops in the Xiang Family Army in this battle.
Due to their extremely high combat effectiveness, they are used as reserves and substitutes from beginning to end of the battle.
Sometimes they also serve as stretcher-bearers and logistical tasks. Never like today, they pull down the front-line positions on the battlefield and face the enemy directly.
Today, I suddenly received an order, and the two leaders, the garrison commander and the patrol commander, felt something was wrong.
We were still chatting about this matter just now, but unexpectedly, a moment later, we received news that the main force seemed to be retreating.
"What! Withdrawal?" When the two heard this, they were instantly startled.
He pulled the soldier over and asked sternly: "You kid! Can you see clearly?"
The soldier is also a veteran and has been with them for many years, so he can be considered a reliable direct lineage.
When the officer asked, he immediately patted his chest and promised, "You can definitely see it clearly, sir!"
"I've been following you for so long, this villain! I dare to risk my life!"
"The young marshal's banner and personal troops, can you admit your mistake... I'm really gone!"
"The villain hid in the dark and watched. When the main force left, it was chaotic and disorderly. It didn't look like an expedition."
"Hiss..." The patrol commander is a middle-aged man in his forties, with sinister eyebrows and rat-like eyes, and a three-part rat beard.
After hearing this, he reached out and pinched the three mustaches, and a pair of rat eyes started to spin around.
He took two steps back and forth in the camp, then turned to look at the garrison commander: "Old Wang... you and I brothers... I'm afraid we've been abandoned by the young marshal..."
"Huh? Brother Li, what do you say?" Upon hearing this, the garrison commander surnamed Wang immediately became vigilant.
This man looked to be in his thirties. He was a strong man with a Chinese character face. He had some martial arts skills at first glance, but he seemed a bit honest and upright.
He and the patrol commander surnamed Li have been friends for many years. He knows that he has no ideas, so he usually listens to Commander Li.
I saw that Commander Li was beard and frowning: "Actually... I had doubts when we were transferred to the front line today."
"After the main force moved in from us, all the first-line positions on the front line were replaced by our people."
"And I heard that the main force started to prepare dry food and collect baggage yesterday. I still thought it was strange at the time."
"The main force of the old commander will not be able to rush back for five or six days. It is not yet time to retreat, so why are they still planning to retreat?"
"Now it seems that the young marshal has already discussed it and is ready to give up Pingyang Shangyun County."
"And we...are just cannon fodder thrown here to resist the pursuing troops!"
"What! Damn it!" Commander Wang had a bad temper, and he became anxious when he heard that he had been abandoned.
He slapped the table hard and said: "Tmd! We are working hard here for his Xiang family, and he will sell us when he comes back?"
"No, let's chase them! I want to ask clearly in front of the young commander what exactly this means!"
After saying that, he turned around and went outside to gather the troops.
Seeing him being so impulsive, the shrewd Commander Li hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Oh brother... why are you so impulsive?"
"With your bluster, won't the morale of the army be completely shattered? We have less than 3,000 men in total, so we must be careful."
"Besides, if you retreat outside this gathering, the other side will definitely notice it."
"When we catch up, we will be the first to be eliminated. The young marshal will punish us for escaping from battle!"
After listening to his advice, Commander Wang finally calmed down.
He sat up on the chair angrily and cursed in a low voice: "Humph! They escaped from the battlefield, but they still have the nerve to blame us!"
"Hey, my silly brother!" Commander Li shook his head helplessly: "You are the commander-in-chief of the armed forces."
"He said that he had an important plan at play, and we ruined his plan by retreating rashly. Isn't this crime enough to hold our heads high?"
"Why would you want to accuse me...brother...!"
As soon as these words came out, Commander Wang completely calmed down and took a few breaths angrily.
Then he asked: "Then what should we do? We can't just wait here to die, right?"
"Of course we can't..." Commander Li pinched his three rat whiskers and walked back and forth in the room several times.
After a sudden pause, he seemed to have made up his mind, and turned to look at Commander Wang: "Old Wang...it has been several days since this battle."
"Do you think that with the equipment and combat capabilities of the Southern Navy and the Yuzhou Army, they will really compete with the Young Marshal and the others in the future?"
"What are the chances of the Xiang family winning?"
"Uh...well..." Commander Li thought for a while: "This Nan Yanxi is a person."
"It is said that now, except for the Central Plains, the Northern Plains, the Three Kingdoms of the Western Regions and the South China Sea, they are all his territory."
"Now that most of Yuzhou and Yanzhou are in his hands, I'm afraid that this family may not be able to suppress him in the future."
"Look at this battle, Xiang Yang was so prepared, but he ran away after just a few days."
"Especially the artillery and muskets, they are really powerful!"
After hearing this, Commander Li nodded slowly: "That's right... before every charge, they use cannons to blast them several times."
"Every time we didn't rush forward, more than half of us would be shot to death randomly."
"So I thought again, how about we... surrender..."
As soon as these words came out, Commander Wang was stunned for a moment. After all, surrender was a very risky matter.
If the bet is good, just return it. If the bet is not good, I am afraid that someone will disarm the person in the past, tie him up, and sacrifice the flag with a click of the knife.
Moreover, this surrender represents weakness and fear of death.