Groups of messengers, numbering about three to five people, sat astride war horses and held copper ceremonials. They galloped past the battalions of the coalition forces of various countries while vigorously banging the copper ceremonials in their hands to signal the entire army to retreat.
Seeing this, the generals of the coalition forces from various countries had different expressions.
Some were not surprised by this, and were even slightly secretly happy, such as Huan Hu and Chen Shou of the Lu State; while others were baffled by the "anticlimactic" nature of this war, and while being baffled, they also felt relieved.
It feels like Ji Wu of Lu State and Wei Shao, Wei Yun, Wei Zhen and others of Wei State.
As for Tian Dan, the general of Qi, he should be the person with the most complicated mood on the battlefield.
This complicated mood stems from his complicated position: for the benefit of Qi, he can neither let Wei win this war nor want Chu to win too easily.
Because of this, in fact, he reminded Chu Shuijun to immediately order an attack on the Wei army. In fact, he had his own selfish motives: he hoped that Chu's army and Wei Wang Zhao Run's army would both lose in a fight here.
But Chu Shuijun was too cautious, which prevented Tian Dan from achieving the real goal in his heart.
From the perspective of being a "General of the State of Qi", Tian Dan certainly felt very sorry that he could not let the Chu and Wei armies fight in such a defeat; but from the perspective of being a "General of the Allied Forces", he felt even more regretful because Chu Shui
Jun's momentary retreat caused his coalition forces to miss an excellent opportunity to defeat the army led by Wei King Zhao Run in one fell swoop.
Having lost today's opportunity, waiting for the 200,000 to 300,000 Wei troops under Wei King Zhao Run to rest for a few days and build up their strength. By then, they will be even more difficult to deal with than they are today.
Thinking of this, Tian Dan couldn't help but regret his decision to stand still and watch the Wei and Chu armies fight.
At this moment, he couldn't help but imagine that if he had just made a decisive decision to support the Chu army and the Wei army in the decisive battle, would this strengthen Chu Shuijun's belief in the decisive battle with the Wei army today.
Of course, this is just a thought. After all, Tian Dan, as a Qi man, does not actually trust Chu State. What's more, he is not the only one who has the idea of "preserving strength". Qi Jun, Ji Wu of Lu State,
, Huan Hu, Wei Shao, Wei Yun, and Wei Zhen of Wei State all held the same idea.
"Could it be that you have seen through that our coalition forces are not monolithic, and that is why you forced the war?"
Tian Dan took a deep look at the direction of the Wei army's main formation.
He had to admit that Wei Wang Zhao Run took the initiative to force a fight today, which was indeed a very clever decision.
"Your vision is still as sharp as ever..."
Tian Danyi sighed with emotion and ordered the withdrawal of troops.
Only Xiang Juan, the right-wing (northern) general of the coalition forces of various countries, found this unacceptable.
"Withdraw troops? Why withdraw troops?"
When he heard the sound of gold ringing coming from behind his own army, Chu State General Xiang Kuan was in disbelief.
Because in his opinion, this battle is not impossible to fight, and in fact, the coalition of his countries has a great chance of winning.
Even though the 200,000 to 300,000 Wei troops on the opposite side are not afraid of death, their allied forces still have an absolute advantage in numbers. In addition, the Wei army has come a long way, and their strength must have been exhausted. This is obviously a battle of seven to three victory.
——The Wei army has a 30% chance of winning, while the allied forces have a 70% chance of winning.
In this case, why not invest troops in a decisive battle with the Wei army?
"General Xiang Kuan, Chu Shuijun ordered you to lead the army to cut off the rear." Several military messengers came to Xiang Kuan's army and conveyed Chu Shuijun's order to this fierce general of Chu State.
Xiang Kuan glanced at the battlefield still raging in front of him, then looked back at the coalition forces that had begun to retreat. He breathed out viciously: "This is so stupid!"
However, although Xiang Juan was very dissatisfied with Chu Shuijun's decision to withdraw his troops, since the coalition forces had generally withdrawn, he had no choice but to obey orders.
"Ding ding ding——"
"Ding ding ding——"
Among the millions of coalition armies from various countries, there was a loud sound of gold, and the endless coalition soldiers slowly retreated under the command of their respective generals, leaving behind the main army of the Chu State led by Xiang Mo, Xiang Kuan and other Chu generals.
Seeing this scene, the morale of the nearly 300,000 Wei troops became even higher.
"Allied forces retreated!"
"Our army has won!"
Thousands of Wei soldiers could not help but cheer loudly.
But more Wei soldiers and generals ignored the Chu army's gold signal and continued to pursue the victory, as if each Wei soldier wanted to kill five enemy soldiers in exchange for what their Wei monarch Zhao Run had promised.
That hearty victory.
At this time, at the main position of the Wei army, the internal minister Jie Ziyu was greatly surprised when he saw the allied forces of various countries retreating in the distance. He shouted to Wei King Zhao Run in a rare rudeness: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, our army has won.
!”
However, Wei King Zhao Run was as calm and indifferent as before, standing on the king's chariot with a sharp sword and saying nothing.
Seeing this, Cen Chang, the general of the Imperial Guard, was puzzled and couldn't help but remind him again: "Your Majesty? Our army has won."
After hearing this, King Zhao Run of Wei turned his head and glanced at Jie Ziu and Cen Chang, who were full of joy. Then he turned his eyes to the battlefield ahead again and said lightly: "It's not that our army won, it's just that the coalition forces retreated."
"That's also a victory." Jie Ziyu said as if he was relieved. Then, seeing Zhao Run's expression as before, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Your Majesty seems to have expected this?"
"Hmm." Zhao Run responded and said calmly: "Although the coalition forces have many soldiers and horses, they are not unified and have their own agendas. The Chu State is trying to replace us, the Great Wei, while Qi and Lu hope that both our Great Wei and the Chu State will suffer defeat.
He was willing to risk his life to assist the Chu army... On the other hand, my son, the son of Wei Dynasty, sacrificed his life generously to protect the country and regarded death as if he were going home. We have taken advantage of "humanity", so how can we lose?"
Hearing this, Jie Ziu and Cen Chang looked at each other.
You know, when Wei King Zhao Run ordered the entire army to attack, their faces turned pale with fear, fearing that the monarch would be impulsive and ruin the situation, but they never thought that all this was under the control of this monarch.
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
Jie Ziyu praised him sincerely, and then asked in confusion: "Excuse me for being stupid, how can your majesty be sure that the coalition forces are not united?"
Zhao Run smiled slightly and said, "This is just my guess."
"Guess, guess?"
Jie Ziyu's eyes widened in shock, and he secretly muttered: Just a guess, and you invested almost all your troops?
He really couldn't tell whether this monarch's behavior should be regarded as impulsive or courageous.
When they thought about the possibility of a big defeat in this battle, Jie Ziu and Cen Chang looked at each other, both faintly afraid: Fortunately, the coalition forces of all countries have retreated. If they had not retreated, the situation would have changed dramatically.
.
"..."
After opening his mouth, Jie Ziyu stopped talking.
At this time, Wei Wang Zhao Run seemed to have guessed Jie Ziyu's thoughts, and said calmly: "My dear, don't be suspicious, I am not blindly impulsive, let alone breaking the pot... If I don't order a last-ditch battle, our army will be in a terrible situation.
It will become more difficult.”
"Your Majesty, please enlighten me."
Jie Ziu and Cen Chang cupped their hands and asked for advice.
Seeing this, Zhao Run did not hide himself and explained calmly: "It should be noted that our army has just arrived in Daliang. Apart from Daliang, there are no camps to garrison... Although Daliang can garrison troops, if all 300,000 troops are stationed in the city,
It is bound to be surrounded by the coalition forces. As a result, our army will be passive... In order to avoid being surrounded by the coalition forces,
Our army is bound to set up a camp outside the city, but obviously, the coalition forces will not turn a blind eye. When our army is stationed in the camp, the coalition forces will continue to harass and attack... Just like just now, I originally planned to send half of the soldiers to garrison in Daliang, but the coalition forces
But they happened to kill them, obviously taking the opportunity to contain our army, preventing our army from setting up camp... This is
Once we show weakness, the coalition forces will inevitably dominate the battle; on the contrary, if our army shows a desperate momentum and in turn forces the coalition forces to fight our army decisively, the coalition forces may retreat due to disunity. At this time, our army will be in
A camp is set up outside the city. The coalition forces are afraid of our army's momentum and may not dare to send troops to harass... Simply
He said, this is a big gamble. If I lose the bet, then our country’s three hundred thousand sons will have to fight the allied forces of other countries with exhausted strength. The outcome is uncertain; but if I win the bet,
I can force the coalition forces to retreat twenty miles and re-station, buying enough time for our army to build a camp outside Daliang City..."
Although Zhao Run's tone was very calm when he explained the truth, Jie Ziu and Cen Chang were still shocked when they heard it.
They must admit that the judgment of Zhao Run, the monarch of Wei State, is correct, but how much courage do they need to dare to implement this decision?
Ask yourself, if Jie Ziu and Cen Chang led an army of 300,000 to fight against a coalition of more than one million countries, would they have the guts to issue an order for a general offensive under such circumstances?
The answer is no.
I believe that the vast majority of people in the world would not dare to issue such an order at such a critical moment without leaving any escape route for oneself.
But the monarch of Wei State in front of him dared to do so. In fact, this monarch remained calm and composed from beginning to end. His courage was truly unparalleled by anyone.
"Tap tap tap——"
Several imperial cavalry rode their horses to the front of the formation, clasped their fists towards King Zhao Run of Wei who was riding in the king's chariot, and reported: "Your Majesty, the entire enemy army has retreated, leaving Xiang Mo behind. General Xiang Kuan has cut off the rear, and General Wei Jiao has already retreated."
Order the entire army to pursue the victory."
"good!"
Wei Wang Zhao Run nodded, and then ordered in a deep voice: "Allow the pursuit of the coalition forces!... Then send someone to Lu Mu, Mu Qing, Wu Wu, Lu Balong, Meng Liang and others, ordering them to lead their respective cavalry to assist from the flanks.
When the main army is chasing the enemy, remember not to be reluctant to fight, just follow behind the coalition army and chase them down."
"Yes!" The guards and cavalry clasped their fists and left.
At this time, Zhao Run ordered Cen Chang again: "Cen Chang, pull down the king's flag, and we will catch up!"
Hearing this, Cen Chang was shocked and quickly tried to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, our army has won this battle. Why does your Majesty need to personally take risks?"
"No need to say more!"
Zhao Run interrupted Cen Chang's words and said sternly: "I have something to say. I will fight for life and death with 300,000 men in this battle. Now that the enemy is taking advantage of the victory and pursues it, how can I fall behind?...Chu Heng
,drive!"
"Yes!" Zongwei Chu Heng responded angrily, shook the reins in his hands, and drove the king's chariot towards the battlefield.
Seeing this, Cen Chang, Jie Ziyu and other Wei officials and generals who stayed in the formation were shocked and quickly urged the Wei soldiers nearby: "Quickly, follow your Majesty!"
"yes!"
All the Wei soldiers in this formation immediately raised their royal flags and followed them forward.
At this time, on the battlefield, there were more than a million allied troops from various countries, and the rear army had slowly retreated. Only Chu generals Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan still led their own regular troops and grain soldiers to resist the Wei army's attack.
At this time, it is not difficult to see that the 300,000 Wei troops who have traveled a long distance are actually very tired, especially the 50,000 Luoyang imperial guards who were the main attackers just now. They are even panting. Although they saw the defeated coalition forces with their own eyes, they
Because I was exhausted, I couldn't catch up.
Instead, Wei's militiamen and rangers overran the Luoyang Imperial Guard and bit Xiang Mo. Xiang Kuan and others left behind a broken army, but they only bit the enemy and could not lead to an effective pursuit and cover-up.
This left Xiang Mo and Xiang Juan feeling no pressure.
However, at this moment, a shout broke out from the Wei army: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty's royal chariot is following us!"
"What?!"
Countless Wei soldiers, militiamen, and knights subconsciously stopped and turned to look behind them. Sure enough, they saw the royal chariot of their Wei monarch, Zhao Run, following them at some point.
Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, Wei Wang Zhao Run stood on the king's chariot, pulled out the sharp sword in his hand, pointed forward in the distance, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "My brave athletes of the Wei Dynasty, follow me to kill
enemy!!"
"Whoa whoa--!!"
The morale of the 300,000 Wei troops was greatly boosted. They felt as if a magical power surged out of their chests, making them forget their physical fatigue and become full of strength again.
"Kill!"
"Open the way for Your Majesty!"
On the chaotic battlefield, the Wei army followed the Chu army in pursuit, and the intensity of the pursuit immediately increased a bit.
Seeing this, Xiang Mo, the general of Chu State, was greatly surprised. He didn't understand why the Wei army, which was obviously exhausted, became so fierce again, until he saw the king's chariot of Wei King Zhao Run in the torrent of Wei army.
It has to be said that the moment he saw Wang Chaan, Xiang Mo's eyes widened in shock.
It was simply unimaginable to him that Zhao Run, the monarch of Wei, would dare to put himself in danger.
You must know that if he sends an elite force from the coalition forces of other countries to kill the monarch of Wei, Wei will definitely decline as a result.
Of course, this is just Xiang Mo's imagination. After all, around the king's chariot were thousands of Wei soldiers whose morale was at its peak. Encouraged by King Zhao Run of Wei to "take the lead", these Wei soldiers were simply crazy.
, even if the coalition forces send the most elite troops, they will probably be torn apart by these crazy Wei soldiers, and will not be able to threaten the king's chariot at all.
"Are you determined to 'kill them all'? The king of Wei..."
Xiang Mo smiled bitterly and thought to himself.
How could he not see that Wei King Zhao Run came forward in person in the king's chariot in order to once again inspire the 300,000 Wei soldiers so that they could use Chu's far superior fighting power to defeat the army after the alliance was interrupted?
In fact, when King Zhao Run of Wei appeared in the king's chariot among the Wei army, the combat effectiveness of the Wei army more than doubled. Even though these Wei soldiers were panting from exhaustion, their fighting spirit was still high and their morale was still high.
At the end of the Lian Xiang period, the main Chu army under Xiang Kuan was also killed by these Wei militiamen and was retreating steadily.
The Chu army fought and retreated, and the Wei army fought and advanced. Originally, the allied forces of the various countries retreated in an orderly manner, but the appearance of Wei King Zhao Run made the Wei army even more courageous, so that the Chu army that was behind showed faint signs of defeat.
.
"kill!"
I saw Wei Wang Zhao Run standing on the king's chariot, holding on to the railing on the king's chariot with one hand, and holding the bright sword high with the other.
Although his sword was shining brightly and had no trace of blood, in the heart of Chu general Xiang Mo, this monarch of Wei was undoubtedly the biggest variable in this battle.
Whether it was the brilliant decision to force a battle just now, or the morale of the Wei army being boosted by "taking the lead" at this moment.
"An army of millions... was defeated by one man."
Xiang Mo smiled bitterly and made a difficult decision, giving up part of his food supply and recruiting troops to buy time for his regular soldiers to evacuate.
After chasing for twenty miles like this, the Wei army fought all the way to the joint camp of the allied forces of various countries that stretched for more than ten miles.
If the Chu generals such as Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan who had retreated are now being bitten by nearly 300,000 Wei troops, then the coalition forces that retreated first will actually have a hard time, because Lu Mu, Mu Qing, and Wu Wu
, Lu Balong, Meng Liang and other Wei generals led 20,000 Sichuan Luo cavalry and imperial guards cavalry, chasing and killing the coalition soldiers along the way.
Sichuan and Luo cavalry are light cavalry that are good at riding and shooting. They are most suitable for chasing retreating enemy troops in the plains. They are like wolves staring at their prey, following behind the coalition forces unhurriedly, and shooting arrows from time to time.
Taking away the life of a coalition soldier. However, the coalition forces lacked effective means of counterattack.
In fact, the coalition forces here are capable of counterattack, just like the army of Lu State.
In recent years, under the influence of the Wei State, the army of the State of Lu also used chariots again, which were used to carry war weapons such as machine crossbow boxes and bed crossbows. If the army of the State of Lu came out to resist the Sichuan-Luo cavalry, they would not be called Sichuan-Luo cavalry.
The entire army was wiped out, but the latter was determined not to shoot down the coalition soldiers without any scruples like now.
But it is a pity that Chu Shuijun sent people to issue orders to Ji Wu and Huan Hu, but Huan Hu ignored them.
Even this evil bandit unscrupulously instigated Ji Wu and misinterpreted Chu Shuijun's order: "General Ji, Chu Shuijun is asking me to wait until the end of the war. This is tantamount to asking me to die."
After hearing this, Ji Wu would not pay attention to Chu Shuijun.
As the saying goes, the allied forces are birds of the same forest, and they fly away when disaster strikes. Why should the Lu army die for the Chu army?
However, Ji Wu could not openly disobey Chu Shuijun's order.
At this time, Huan Hu took the opportunity to offer a plan: "Kill those order soldiers and pretend that we have not received the order... In such a chaotic battlefield, it is normal for a few order soldiers to die.
"
Ji Wu nodded secretly, and then, the few messengers sent by Lord Chu Shui were quietly killed by Huan Hu.
As a result, Lu's army did not come forward to resist the Sichuan-Luo cavalry, causing the Chu army to suffer numerous casualties.
It is worth mentioning that when retreating to the coalition camp that stretched for more than ten miles, Lu general Chen Shou privately discussed with Huan Hu whether to take the opportunity to defect and deal a fatal blow to the Chu army.
I have to say that Huan Hu was also a little hesitant about this.
It is undeniable that he expected the "small defeat" of the coalition forces, and also expected that Xiang Mo, Xiang Kuan and others would lead the elite to stay behind, but he only misjudged the combat effectiveness of the Wei army - he never expected that Wei King Zhao Run would
He would put himself in danger and ride on the king's chariot to chase down the coalition forces together. He never thought that the elite Chu army led by Xiang Mo, Xiang Kuan and others would be suppressed by the exhausted Wei army.
This made him unable to help but speculate on how likely it would be to defect to the enemy at this moment.
But unfortunately, before he could make a decision, the main army led by Chu Shuijun and the Wei army had withdrawn into the coalition camp in detail - he had missed the best opportunity to kill the coalition commander.
"Just wait for the opportunity."
Huan Hu said to Chen Shou privately.
Although his judgment was wrong, Huan Hu didn't think it was his problem. He just didn't expect that the existence of Wei King Zhao Run could give Wei's militiamen and rangers such incredible strength - this morale and combat effectiveness were simply incredible.
No less than the regular army.
About half an hour later, the main army led by Chu generals Xiang Mo, Xiang Kuan and others retreated to the joint camp with difficulty.
Behind them, there were nearly 300,000 Wei troops whose morale was so high that they were almost crazy.
It's a bit ridiculous to say that a side with millions of troops is huddled in the camp at the moment, looking at the Wei army outside the camp in fear; while the Wei army, which clearly has only 300,000 people, is standing arrogantly in the camp that stretches for more than ten miles.
In addition to the marriage alliance, he called the coalition forces in the camp to come out to fight for life and death.
"This battle was fought with such cowardice!"
Xiang Kuan cursed angrily.
After hearing this, Xiang Mo also remained silent.
He also felt that the defeat in this battle was a bit inexplicable - the initial 'small defeat' was actually completely acceptable, but no one expected that the exhausted Wei army, inspired by Wei Wang Zhao Run's 'lead by example', actually
The more they fought, the more courageous they became, and they were entangled to the death, so that the allied forces of the various countries finally turned from retreat to defeat. There were obviously millions of troops, but they were chased by the Wei army and fled in panic.
Fortunately, the soldiers of the Wei army were not exhausted, otherwise, today I am afraid that they would not just retreat, but be defeated.
On that day, 300,000 Wei troops fought all the way to the more than ten-mile joint camp of the coalition forces of various countries. However, due to the lack of physical strength of the soldiers, they ultimately failed to take the opportunity to capture the coalition camp.
This made Wei Wang Zhao Run a little regretful.
However, although it is a bit regretful, Zhao Run is also satisfied enough. After all, in his opinion, the coalition forces of various countries suffered an inexplicable defeat today and should not be able to resume the war in a short time. This gives his 300,000 Wei troops enough time to fight
Build a camp outside Daliang City.
Of course, Zhao Run also considered whether the coalition forces in the coalition camp would become angry and leave the camp to fight with his Wei army again.
Therefore, Zhao Run did not dare to stay in front of the allied camp for a long time. Using the excuse of "it was getting close to dusk and we will fight again tomorrow", he led nearly 300,000 Wei troops in a mighty manner and arrogantly returned to Daliang, leaving the more than ten miles behind.
The allied soldiers and generals in the joint camp looked at each other in shock and watched helplessly as the Wei army retreated.
How could it be like this?
Seeing nearly 300,000 Wei troops evacuate happily, while the soldiers of our own coalition army were silent and their morale plummeted, Chu Shuijun looked extremely ugly.
He never imagined that the battle would end up in this situation.