Chapter 909 Stand alone, on the eve of the decisive battle
Although the Xia Army's vanguard cavalry retreated, they did not suffer heavy losses due to the sudden attack led by Xiao Tang because they retreated in time and were mostly cavalry.
After Xiao Tang led his troops back to the castle where they were stationed, he immediately ordered the doctors accompanying him to diagnose and treat Hua Rong's injuries. According to the Song Dynasty system, when the army set out, they all ordered Hanlin Zhuan to be dispatched to treat the soldiers, and medical officers followed.
There are also many medical officers in the commandery of the county, and they are accompanied by medical personnel. It should be said that the medical officers who accompanied the army to the side court are indeed skilled in medicine and are good at diagnosing and treating external and internal injuries. However, they can only deal with them here one after another.
The general's injuries during the fierce battle were entirely due to the fact that Cai Chi, the supervisor of the army at that time, complained about the bitter cold in Bianting. The army was working hard. If there was a headache or fever, there would be more capable people to take care of it. Now these medical officers and doctors are dealing with the injuries.
Only when his ability was truly put to use in the army.
After half an hour of diagnosis and treatment, the doctor, who was sweating heavily, immediately reported to Xiao Tang that although Hua Rong was exhausted from fighting and suffered several injuries, fortunately his life was not serious.
Due to the continuous exertion of the right arm, the muscles were torn and the blood flowed to the elbow. During this period, we could only maintain and regulate the breath. Otherwise, the tendon of the hand tendon would be ruptured. Even if one arm would not be completely disabled, Hua Rong Kai Qiang Gong would lead to
I am afraid that it is almost impossible for my ability with arrows to return to the unrivaled level.
In other words, Xiao Tang has temporarily lost another usable combat force under his command.
There was another thing that made Xiao Tang frown. While he mobilized troops to reinforce the soldiers and civilians in Bianting, he also paid close attention to the movements of the Xia army in the north led by Cha Ge. After the advice of Xu Guanzhong, Xiao Jiasui and other close advisers,
Originally, Xiao Tang sent surprise troops to disturb the enemy's two flanks, confusing the line of sight and trying to slow down the Xia army under Cha Ge's command. However, although the use of military strategy was ingenious, it was only when the momentum was at a disadvantage that he had to make surprise moves.
To compensate for this, Cha Ge, who now firmly holds the strategic initiative, was not affected at all. He was still sweeping the military strongholds on the border between Song and Xia, and was still pressing forward step by step towards the fortress where Xiao Tang was.
Instead, he sent out to rescue the surrounding military villages. Among the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty in the county and town, Li Yongqi has not returned yet. There is even no news about his soldiers and horses, and no fast horses have come back to report.
Talk about the situation.
If the earthen pot is not broken outside the well, the general will inevitably die before the battle. If he is not careful on the battlefield, he will be defeated and killed. Moreover, since Xiao Tang decided to change his route to help Liu Fa, he also anticipated the dangerous situation he would face.
, as for the famous general Cha Ge who leads the Xia army... he is indeed a formidable opponent who will not leave any chance to the enemy.
Although the fortress where Xiao Tang is now stationed has been repaired by his subordinates Jun Jian's efforts, there were originally many places where most of the wall bricks peeled off and the rammed earth collapsed, and soldiers had long repaired it with wooden palisades, but this is still not considered a
The important town of Junzhou, with its high walls and deep trenches, lacks large-scale defense weapons other than stones and rolling logs. Even the number of arrowheads is not optimistic now. Fortunately, it can rely on the dangerous terrain. Half of the surrounding walls of the city are as if they were cut with knives.
The steep mountains also made it difficult for the enemy to surround and attack with thousands of troops and horses.
Moreover, although there is a lack of garrison equipment and there are no other units of the Song Army in the rear to support each other, even if the back road is cut off, there are abundant water, trees, plants, and birds and animals in the mountains and ridges here.
Even if they are cut off by the enemy and surrounded by enemies, the drinking water and food will be enough to survive for a while. After all, the Song-Xia national war is not just about attacking each other in this place. Cha Ge also needs to consider the differences between the west and the east.
In a war situation, it is impossible to continuously assemble heavy troops regardless of the gains and losses in other strategic locations.
The most critical question is how long Xiao Tang can stay here.
If you abandon this place and continue to evacuate south, and give up the key passes of the city wall to the Xia army, the other side will have an unimpeded path. I don’t know how many enemy troops can go south along the passage here, and I don’t know how many enemy troops will have to follow the Xihe Road.
, the people of the Song Dynasty on the Song-Xia border on Jingyuan Road were about to die tragically under the swords and axes of the Xia people. Among the people on the border who were successively ordered by Xiao and Tang to rescue people, only a small half of those who lived in the south had migrated to Lanzhou on Xihe Road.
A relatively stable place under the rule. In addition to the soldiers under Xiao Tang, there are more than 20,000 old, weak, women and children temporarily placed in the walled city. With these people delaying their journey, it is absolutely impossible to rush in.
The Xia army moved back to the hinterland of the Song Dynasty before the encirclement.
Abandoning these common people who hindered the journey? Although Xiao Tang also knew very well that whether it was Liu Fa, a veteran in the Western Army, or the more than 100,000 people of the Song Kingdom on the Song-Xia border, they would all perish according to their original fate.
Under Xia Jun's massive counterattack, Xiao Tang had planned to save the lives of these helpless people from the beginning, especially now that he could see countless fleeing people paralyzed on the ground in fear in the city fortress.
, whether it is a local wealthy man wearing wrinkled old robes, or a refugee cook in ragged clothes, whether it is a young and strong man with some strength, or the elderly and children... Xiao Tang can see it from their eyes.
All the people who were fleeing the disaster regarded him and the Song army under his command as the last straw to save their lives. When the eyes of tens of thousands of people were full of pleading and begging looks, and they were projected towards him, Xiao Tang suddenly felt
Until my heart becomes heavy.
Although Xiao Tang thinks that he is not yet the chivalrous person he thinks he is for the country and the people, the heavy responsibility of saving tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians is now on his shoulders, not to mention that there will be a Jurchen Jin Kingdom in the future.
Those enemies, who are ten times more ferocious than Xixia, have been working hard to change the catastrophe of the Central Plains Dynasty in history. If they can't save these people now, how can they turn the tide in the future?
"Now we are the only ones who can resist the Xia army north of Xihe Road in Bianting. I think if the situation continues to drag out, the Imperial Guards and horses deployed in the rear will still be stuck if they know that we are waiting.
The pass here will definitely not be ignored forever. We stay here to fight against the powerful enemy, not to find a place to die, but to defend the country here, and we can no longer let the Xia thieves drive straight in...
"
In the simple military tent in the city fortress, Xiao Tang looked solemn. He met the eyes of the generals under his command and said in a serious voice: "I, Xiao Tang, have been fighting side by side with you for a long time, so naturally I should tell the truth frankly.
To be clear, if we defend here to resist the enemy, we may not be rewarded and promoted by the court. To resist the enemy's army with such a lone army is also a life-long job. But a man's fame can only be obtained on the horse, not in the song. I
Generations of people enlisted in the army to protect the people of the Song Dynasty from being invaded and slaughtered by the barbarians. If they were only focused on their own fame and wealth, how could they be the actions of good men in the army? So I have made up my mind. Even if the enemy army is strong, we will wait for it.
We must still stay here to resist the Xia army and protect the people of the Song Dynasty!"
After hearing Xiao Tang's categorical words, Yao Pingzhong, who was sitting sideways, breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Xiao Jieshuai said that if colleagues from other departments knew that I was waiting here to fight against the Xia thieves, they would not ignore them all the time, but now
Mr. Zhong is advancing on the six or seven military prefectures in Hengshan. Water far away cannot quench his thirst, and the person in charge of the military power on the west route is Commander Tong Xuan. If we have to wait for him to send a large army to meet us...hehe, I'm afraid it's still a long way away.
There is no time limit, but if a man wants to make great achievements, he naturally understands why he wants to join the army. Since we are willing to come with Xiao Jieshuai, how can we give up halfway at this time? "
Although the other generals present may not directly point out Tong Guan like Yao Pingzhong, most likely they still have to sit back and watch, but they all know that following Xiao Tang's diversion to the north to rescue Liu Fa, they may have offended the powerful person.
As a concubine, it would be a good idea if she would not be accused of inexplicable crimes and be suppressed and framed. I hope Tong Guan can send troops to support in time? This is probably even more impossible than teaching that powerful official to have a family full of descendants.
However, although he had to fight alone at the moment, almost everyone present had the same thoughts as Yao Pingzhong. Liu Fa, who was sitting side by side with Xiao Tang, also nodded slowly at this time and said: "If we can abandon these common people's shy faces and live quietly,
Go, what kind of a soldier are we like to save the country and help the people in danger? Marshal Xiao Jie rescued me and taught me how to save my life. Now how can I protect tens of thousands of people from the Xia people's swords and axes?
Next, we will just rely on Xiao Jieshuai’s instructions.”