The water level has been falling, and they want to save these rafts while the tidal flats are not wide enough to leave a way for the army to retreat.
But it was difficult to drag those wooden rafts, not even for a group of people to lift a wooden raft. It was difficult for a person to even walk, let alone dragging heavy objects.
The depth under the mud is simply mysterious. The shallowest part is no more than the knees, but the deepest part can sink the whole person.
They suffered a fierce attack from the Yan army in the front, while the sergeants who rescued the wooden platoons in the rear were tossed in the mud on the tidal flats and were almost driven to despair. It was the kind of despair that was so close yet so far away. They watched helplessly as the water level increased little by little with time.
Go away.
General Zhao, who was commanding the operations on the front line, cried after learning about the situation of rescuing the platoon behind him and facing the fighting battlefield.
A big man had tears in his eyes. The war was far from over, but he was already crying silently. The tears filled his cheeks and moistened his beard. He trembled his lips and murmured to himself: "Zhao... is over! Zhao is over."
…”
He was not one of those little soldiers below who just followed orders and didn't know anything about the situation. He knew clearly that after the Yan army and the Zhao rebels joined forces, the overall strength was twice that of the Zhao army. Once they launched an attack, they would often be twice the strength of the Zhao army.
And the person commanding twice the number of troops here is not a drunkard, but a famous general of a generation who is famous all over the world.
There is also the power of monks. The three major sects of the Yan Kingdom were able to compete head-on with the three major factions of the Zhao Kingdom. Now, the extremely powerful Xiaoyue Pavilion has joined forces with the three major factions of the Yan Kingdom. In other words, the enemy's monks are stronger than Zhao.
This side of the country.
Now that his side was being attacked by the enemy's superior force, there was no possibility of a forced counterattack. The only retreat was the large lake at his back, but this last retreat was actually blocked by the muddy ground.
His people couldn't retreat, so how could the army in the lake reach the shore? There were millions of people in the lake!
Relying on man-made natural barriers must be man-made. He believed that it must be man-made. Such a large lake is not a small pond. It must have been opened up by someone. Otherwise, the water level would not have dropped so fast, otherwise the Yan army would not have happened.
Launch an attack at this time.
Relying on the man-made natural barriers, the Yan army could trap millions of people in the lake with only a small part of its troops.
The millions of troops in the lake have no effect on Zhao State and can be treated as non-existent.
One thing is also very obvious. The water level of the lake cannot drop only to his side. Not only the troops on his side have no way to retreat, but the Zhao people in other directions also have no way to retreat.
The war had reached this point, and he already knew that Zhao was finished without having to see the outcome.
With tears streaming down his face, he looked up to the sky and was speechless. The "Yanshan Ming" commanded thousands of troops on this vast land to lay out a devastating plan. He wanted to complete his work in one battle, but he did it...
On the lake, among the team rowing hard and fast, a general pointed ahead and shouted: "Captain, we have seen the shore, we are almost there."
Pang Teng urged again, "Quick, we must land before dusk, and we must hurry up to join the defenders before dusk to break through!"
Even he himself didn't believe what he said. He knew that he was forcibly boosting the morale of the soldiers.
When the front line of the army crossing the lake approached the so-called shore, all the soldiers were dumbfounded, and the people sitting on the rafts also stood up and watched one after another.
Where is the real shore? There is still a hundred feet away from the green grassy shore, and there is still more than a mile to go.
Standing on the raft, you can see many people writhing in the mud on the real shore.
The faces of Zuo Chengfeng, Jiang Wanlou and Mi Man darkened, and they finally understood why Pang Teng said, 'I'm afraid it's too late'.
Zuo Chengfeng said in a cold tone: "Commander Pang Pang, as the commander-in-chief of an army, it is your responsibility to keep the army alive. How can you lead the army out of trouble?"
Jiang Wanlou and Mi Man also stared at Pang Teng. It would be no problem for them to cross this muddy area, but they could not bring so many people across it in a short time. They could only hope that the commander-in-chief Pang Teng would come up with a way as soon as possible.
.
Pang Teng turned back to the three of them and said: "Go down with some mages to see which area is shallower. Use your height to test the depth, and line up in a row to explore the way forward."
Immediately, a group of disciples from the three major sects took orders and stepped out, landing on the muddy ground in front of them. They were lined up at intervals. After that, they all removed their magic power and their feet immediately sank. In some places, the mud was up to their knees.
It has stopped sinking, and in some places it has reached the thighs, and in some places it has reached the waist, reached the chest, and has not stopped sinking beyond the shoulders.
And those places that can stop below the knees seem to be still walkable, but in fact they are only small areas. After walking a few feet further, they can sink to the point where you can't even see the top of your head.
I don’t know how many years it has taken for the silt at the bottom of the lake to settle.
Pang Teng knew there was no way to get over it, so he slowly closed his eyes, his face full of pain, and no one could understand the pain in his heart.
A family of three fathers and three sons successively served as the governors of the Zhao State. The father and elder brother led the Zhao State's troops to fight. In the end, they all ended in defeat, which also brought huge losses to the Zhao State. He wanted to reverse it, but he would follow in the footsteps of his father and brother.
Following suit, is this the fate of the Pang family?
"No need to try again, you won't be able to pass." Pang Teng sighed softly after opening his eyes.
Jiang Wanlou said angrily: "As a commander, he actually said such words that shake the morale of the army. If you can't live with it, you have to live with it!"
Mi Man said: "Put the wooden rafts together and try to build a pontoon bridge."
Pang Teng said: "It's useless. Wood can float in drainage water, but it won't float in this kind of mud. If you throw it down, it will be swallowed up. Even if it floats, it will sink if someone steps on it."
Mi Man doesn't believe in that evil. The key is that they can't accept this reality, so they just give up? They won't give up until they try.
They quickly organized themselves and asked the soldiers on one raft to distribute points to other rafts. Then they asked several monks to cast spells to lift the raft and run to the mud to lower it down.
Facts have proved that in some aspects, even the so-called well-informed leaders of the three major sects are not as good as Pang Teng.
Throughout his life as a soldier, Pang Teng has experienced too many different terrains with his men and horses. What kind of places can the army move and what kind of places can they set up camp? This is already his basic quality. He can know the local terrain at a glance.
As a result, his ability in this area was far inferior to that of the heads of the three major sects who were flying around at every turn.
This result made Mi Man, who insisted on giving it a try, very angry and scolded Pang Teng, "What should we do now?"
Pang Teng said nothing, staring at the shore a hundred or two hundred feet away, the grief in his eyes was so profound.
The three heads looked in the direction he was looking, and could already hear the faint sounds of fighting coming from the other side.
You can see the shore here, and you can also see the army on the lake swarming on the shore, but the two sides cannot meet in this short distance.
Jiang Wanlou suddenly said: "I have a way to try it. The army can take advantage of the momentum to descend from the water outlet, and they should be able to land!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone else understood the profound meaning. They wanted to give up on the besieged Zhao soldiers and horses on the shore in front of them, and did not rescue them. They pretended not to have seen them.
However, it was impossible not to give up. There was no way to rescue him. Zuo Chengfeng said: "Not bad!" Saying this showed that he also agreed to give up regardless of the life and death of the people on the south bank!
Pang Teng said loudly, "It's useless. In such a large lake, the water level dropped so fast, and the speed of the water at the breach can be imagined. With so many people rushing over, without the enemy attacking, they will all be finished!"
Jiang Wanlou said angrily: "It won't work this way, that won't work either. What do we need you as a commander-in-chief for? Since the two countries have been at war, ever since Meng Shanming took action, you have always been at a disadvantage. Before provoking the war, you claimed that you had
Who is sure to win? Who insists on persuading us to start the war? Even though the Yan State is so weak, Meng Shanming can still turn things around. What about you? The great Zhao State has been beaten like this by you, in vain.
Enjoy the waste of high-ranking officials and generous salaries!"
Pang Teng had a sad look on his face. The other party scolded him mercilessly, and he admitted it, "I, Pang Teng, am the eternal sinner of Zhao State!"
A group of generals around him also looked sad.
Mi Man: "Isn't it useless for sinners to talk about it? What is before us now is to solve the problem. Do we want the army to wait for death in vain? No matter whether Brother Jiang's method works or not, it is at least the only feasible method. At least we have to try it.
try!"
Pang Teng closed his eyes and regretted, "Don't try, even if you rush out of Jiaohu Lake... the lower reaches will definitely be a vast ocean flooded by floods. As long as you rush there, you will be defeated! I, Pang Teng, am incompetent and have harmed the people of Zhao State.
Poor people downstream, I don’t know how many people will suffer because of this flood! Meng Shanming has repeatedly used such vicious tactics to wipe out households, and he will be punished by God!"
Jiang Wanlou cursed angrily: "What kind of divine punishment? As a commander-in-chief, it is your bounden duty to win the battle. What's the point of cursing your opponent with your mouth if you can't win? You, Pang Teng, have the ability to come up with a desperate plan. I will help you if you are punished by heaven."
You took it!"
Pang Teng recognized whatever he was scolding. A defeated general is not brave enough. Even if there are thousands of reasons, there is no need to defend. This is not a sophistry in the court. If you lose, you lose...
After losing more than half of the army holding on to the south bank, with no hope of breaking out, no way to retreat, and no reinforcements, the remaining 300,000 troops finally... surrendered!
Zhao's last three million elites, those who died in battle, those who surrendered, and those who were trapped in the lake, meant that they had lost more than half.
The strength of the coalition forces of Yan State and Zhao State rebels was not as good as that of the Yan State and Zhao State rebels. As a result, the Zhao army's defense strategy of relying on Jiaohu completely collapsed, and the remaining Zhao soldiers and horses on the shore were compressed into a small area. The coalition forces had no control over this situation.
The troops did not attack by force, besieged them, and constantly persuaded them to surrender.
With the victory in hand, Zhao Jun had no chance to make a comeback. Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming were unwilling to attack again and inflict too many casualties on the Yan army's children.
From the east to the Song Dynasty, and then to the west to attack the Zhao Kingdom, the price paid by Yan Guoerlang in order to defend his country and fight against foreign enemies was already too great!
At this point, the coastal defenses around Jiaohu Lake have been almost completely taken over by the coalition forces, and the millions of Zhao troops in the lake have completely become turtles in the urn!
The news of the Battle of Corner Lake shocked the world!
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that although this battle is not over, but it has been fought like this, the Zhao army has no chance of coming back, and the destruction of the Zhao country is in sight!