"Very good." Xiang Yang nodded: "Is there any news from the vanguard?"
The soldier shook his head: "Back to Young Master, I don't have any for the time being."
"Then...is there any news from my lord?"
"Uh...no."
Sighing, Xiang Yang frowned uneasily. Logically speaking, no matter whether the war goes well or not, there should always be some news from his father's side...
And there's no news about this vanguard force...?
However, fortunately, the troops are already close to the Minjiang River. As soon as they cross the river, they will send all their troops to set up defenses along the river.
We must make use of the natural danger of the Minjiang River. In this way, we will not be afraid of the Ming army pursuing us.
Moreover, in the last battle, it was precisely because the Min River was not controlled that the Ming Navy's navy came upstream from the sea and appeared in front of Minzhou City.
With the help of the huge cannon on the ship, it caused a lot of trouble to its defensive positions.
After you cross the river, you must not let this happen again.
Xiang Yang made up his mind, then turned around and shouted loudly and urged: "Brothers, speed up the march. If the front crosses the Minjiang River, we will win!"
At this time, Xiang Jun's defeated troops were equally excited. They were pushed all the way, lacked food and clothing, and were frightened.
As long as you cross the Minjiang River and enter Minzhou City, you won't be able to sleep well for three days and three nights.
Although they were exhausted, all the troops quickened their pace as if they were looking for plum blossoms to quench their thirst.
However, not long after the troops moved forward, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the front.
Xiang Yang was a little confused and couldn't help but murmured: "It looks like it's going to rain...the thunder is so urgent."
"Young... Young Master... I'm afraid this is not thunder!" The soldier beside him looked forward with a pale face, his expression full of nervousness.
Xiang Yang had just woken up at this time and was still a little confused. He followed the gaze of his soldiers and saw a horse riding quickly from the distance. They were the liaison soldiers of the front army.
The soldier's face was full of panic, and he came quickly towards Xiang Yang: "Report...emergency military information...emergency military information..."
The horse galloped and arrived in front of Xiang Yang in just a moment. Then he turned over and fell off the horse.
The soldiers around him hurried over to help him up and poured some water into his mouth. Only after taking a look did he realize that the liaison soldier had been injured.
Seeing this, Xiang Yang suddenly felt something bad in his heart and hurriedly asked: "What's going on!"
"Go back... back to the young master." The liaison soldier breathed hard and said intermittently: "Ahead... there are enemy forces blocking the front. Our army was caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties."
"What!"
As soon as these words came out, Xiang Yang almost fainted. Since being ambushed, he has been retreating to this point, and he has been comforting himself.
The Ming army was at the end of its battle, and the ambush was just for defense and to block its own pursuit.
As long as they withdraw their troops, nothing will happen to them.
But now, he was hit hard in the face first, and the enemy troops had been waiting in formation for a long time.
In other words... they had already planned to eat themselves in one bite.
Just as Xiang Yang was shocked, suddenly, another liaison soldier came from behind the team, equally panicked.
"Report...emergency military information...emergency military information..."
The liaison soldier was equally anxious. He quickly came to Xiang Yang, dismounted from his horse, knelt down and said, "Report to Young Master, the scouts in the rear have sent news that the enemy is catching up."
"What!" Xiang Yang was going crazy at this time, which further confirmed what he had just thought.
Any defeat or retreat is simply false!
The so-called retreat of the Ming army this time was just a fake defeat. All they did was to take advantage of themselves.
I'm afraid that when I was defeated and defeated, this place would have been blocked.
Regardless of the fact that he has not received news about the reserved 10,000 people for many days, they must have been wiped out by the Ming army long ago.
As soon as the news came, all the soldiers nearby heard it and began to panic.
There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind, what should we do?
"Young... Young Master... what... what should we do... or let's... let's run..."
"Fart! Why are you panicking!" Xiang Yang was furious and shouted at the panicked soldiers: "What's there to be afraid of!"
"Run? Where to run? They have been ready for a long time, just waiting for you to run!"
"Young... Young Master... what should we do?" the soldiers asked hurriedly.
Xiang Yang pondered for a moment, then turned around and asked the rear liaison soldier: "How far behind are the enemy troops from me?"
"It's less than eighty miles back, young master. The cavalry can arrive in one day," the soldier replied.
Nodding, Xiang Yang asked the liaison soldier of the front army: "Let me ask you, how many enemy troops are there in front? What's the situation?"
"Back to you, young master!" the soldier hurriedly replied: "The enemy army is about 30,000 people. Looking at the armor and flags, it should be the Ming army mixed with the Ming navy."
"They have established a position on the west bank of the Minjiang River, and there are enemy ships cruising in the river behind them."
"Our vanguard was blown up by the huge cannons on these warships and suffered heavy casualties!"
"Damn it!" Xiang Yang cursed secretly: "There is really a wolf in front and a tiger in the back..."
Seeing this, a soldier beside him suggested: "Your Highness, they are only 30,000 people, and there are quite a few of us, so why not just rush over!"
"Fuck you!" Xiang Yang rolled his eyes and yelled: "How to flush? What to flush with?"
"Have you not heard that there are a large number of warships in the river? How are we going to swim across?"
The soldier shrank his neck and did not dare to say anything.
But now this situation has made Xiang Yang very worried. What should he do... It seems that there is no way he can go back to Minzhou.
In this pursuit of the enemy, not only did they not catch the enemy's hair, but they lost nearly 100,000 troops and Minzhou was also lost.
If I go back, will my old man scold me to death? I might even be slapped with a military stick.
How could he know now that his father had been beaten into a hornet's nest outside Jingzhou City?
After thinking for a long time, Xiang Yang still felt that being beaten by a military stick was better than losing his life.
I currently have less than 50,000 men and horses, but when the Minjiang enemy army was so large just now, I estimate that there are only more than 40,000 left.
If someone makes dumplings, it will be all over.
After much deliberation, Xiang Yang finally decided to send his troops north. After all, he still had these 40,000 people in his hands. That was not better than a mere commander.
Rather than being dumped on the banks of the Minjiang River, it is better to put oil on the soles of your feet and try your best to go north. As long as you join forces with the Western Front Army, you will be safe.
As the saying goes, if you want to keep the green hills, you don't have to worry about running out of firewood. If you can beat them, then fight them. If you can't beat them, just run away.
Thinking of this, Xiang Yang immediately made up his mind and hurriedly ordered: "Everyone pay attention, send an order to the whole army, and send troops north to join the lord."
"As long as we join them, we will be safe."
"Yes! Young Master!" All the soldiers agreed and quickly turned around to deliver the order.
Xiang Yang, on the other hand, had no time to hesitate and took the lead directly, leading his Chinese army to turn north.