The battle lasted until dawn, and the heroes of the Zhou Dynasty were extremely heroic. It seemed that the resentment accumulated in the defeat in the past few months and the humiliation of the peace talks of the Zhou Dynasty had burst out tonight. The soldiers shouted and charged, each one like a tiger.
He was as brave and fearless as a leopard, and only killed the Liao army, throwing away their armor.
The Liao army briefly organized a defense, but this was obviously in vain. The 20,000 tired Liao infantry were simply not enough to resist the Zhou soldiers and horses that had swarmed into the city. The Liao army was not originally strong in equipment and close combat.
Facing these fierce Zhou soldiers and horses who were full of resentment, their resistance was completely meaningless.
The funny thing is that General Han Zongze may have read too many military books and damaged his brain. He actually thought that with his ability, he could lead the soldiers and horses to drive the Zhou soldiers and horses out of the city, but he didn't even know how to command the soldiers and horses.
They didn't coordinate well. When he was in a hurry, he actually exposed his target and stood on the roof of a house gesticulating. After his whereabouts were discovered by Han Gang, Han Gang mobilized thousands of soldiers and horses and rushed into the nearby streets.
When Han Zongze realized that something was wrong, the house he was in was surrounded by soldiers and horses of the Zhou Dynasty. Han Zongze and his seven or eight generals were all captured by Han Gang.
At dawn, before the morning fog cleared up, the fighting in the city was basically over. Han Zongze was hesitant and failed to order the troops to evacuate immediately. After entering the city, Ma Qingshan led 3,000 troops to attack North Street and blocked the North City.
As a result, the Liao army wanted to withdraw but was unable to do so, and it eventually turned into a battle between trapped beasts. The reason why the battle lasted until dawn was because the Zhou soldiers and horses filled the city to hunt down the remnants of the Liao army, leaving them with no way to escape.
.
Han Gang and Ma Qingshan, covered in blood and exhausted, gathered in the square in front of the city lord's palace. Although they were exhausted, they were in an extremely happy mood. They looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
"Master Han, I didn't expect it. We can easily win a big victory." Ma Qingshan laughed.
Han Gang laughed and said, "Isn't that right? The two of us came with the intention of dying, but in the end we won this great victory. In today's battle, at least tens of thousands of Liao dogs were annihilated."
Ma Qingshan smiled and said: "I'm afraid it's more than that. We'll know when the battlefield is cleared later and the casualties between the enemy and ourselves are revealed. One thing is for sure, we won a big victory."
Han Gang nodded and said: "Exactly, I finally got rid of the gloom in my heart and vented my anger. It's a pity that Mr. Yang couldn't see this scene, otherwise he would have been extremely happy."
Ma Qingshan said in a deep voice: "Master Yang's heroic spirit is not far away, so he should be happy. This victory can comfort his soul in heaven. We did not embarrass him, we did not give in, and this should be the happiest thing for you."
Han Gang nodded and said: "Brother is right. We fight like men and will never wag our tails and beg for mercy from Liao dogs. This is the kind of blood that a man from Da Zhou should have."
Ma Qingshan pointed at the surrounding groups of excited and smiling soldiers and said with a smile: "General Han, look at our brothers. They were all dejected before. After this battle, they all changed and were in a happy mood."
, feel refreshed. Hahaha, so, before you were worried that our morale could not be united, but in fact, as long as we win a victory like today, morale will be high and people's hearts will be united. All worries will disappear.
Already."
Han Gang pointed his finger and praised: "Brother Ma is really powerful, I really admire you. Today's attack on the city, you were the first to break through the city wall and seize the city gate in the east city. It was you who led three thousand people to seize the city gate."
They entered the North City Gate and blocked the retreat of the Liao Dogs. Brother Ma is really brave. You and I have the same soldiers and horses, but I feel inferior to them."
Ma Qingshan's brows moved and the corners of his mouth twitched to say something, but he finally held back. He couldn't tell Han Gang the truth, at least not at this moment. His troops were not just those from Bazhou.
Since last night, a soldier and horse joined them. All the breakthroughs since then were made by that soldier and horse. Even the capture of the North City Gate and the total annihilation of the Liao army in this city were the suggestions of others. Ma Qingshan himself did not want to
The Liao people had the courage to annihilate them all here. Facts have proved that that man's suggestion was extremely correct.
"General Han, I think we have to clear the battlefield quickly and let the brothers rest for a while. After that, we have to formulate the next plan. It is certainly a good thing to capture Zhuozhou and win a big victory. But where will we go from here?
Let’s discuss it carefully.” Ma Qingshan said.
Han Gang looked solemn and felt awe-inspiring in his heart. Yes, before, he just wanted to have a fight with the Liao people and came with the intention of dying. He didn't think too much. Now that he actually won, he was a little confused. This was a great victory.
It's gratifying, but after this battle, he, Ma Qingshan and the thirty thousand brothers under him can't look back. Do you expect the court to reward you? Even if it is impossible. This move has destroyed the peace agreement between the Zhou Dynasty and the Liao people, and the consequences will not be known.
Predictable. It would be fine if he died in battle today, but now that he has won a big victory, I am afraid he will have to think carefully about what to do next.
At noon, Han Gang and Ma Qingshan convened a meeting in the dilapidated hall of the City Lord's Mansion. The atmosphere of the meeting was very lively, and the generals were still immersed in the joy of victory, talking and laughing about the battle last night.
Han Gang coughed with a smile on his face and said: "Brothers, the results of the battle have been calculated. In this battle, we annihilated more than 18,000 Liao army defenders and captured the enemy defender Han Zongze and more than ten Liao generals.
The Liao army had 20,000 troops in this city, but only 2,000 escaped over the city wall. The rest were wiped out by us. We only suffered less than 3,000 casualties. It was truly a great victory.
.Hahaha, neither General Ma nor I expected such a result. This battle swept away the gloom and felt proud. Who said our Zhou soldiers and horses were incompetent? Who said the Liao people were invincible? We only attacked the city with 30,000 soldiers and horses.
And annihilating all opponents will not only break the rumor that the Liao people are invincible, but also strengthen the power of our army and clear away the turmoil."
All the generals laughed and discussed excitedly.
"It's all due to the good command of General Han and General Ma. We never expected to achieve such a great victory. It's really satisfying."
"Isn't it? It's the first time in my life that I am so proud and proud. I have been entangled with the Liao people in the border town for so many years. How could we, the Zhou Dynasty, have such a great victory? This battle proves that our soldiers and horses of the Zhou Dynasty are not weaker than the Liao people. Those who have seen
Guys who are three points shorter than the Liao people, those who think the Liao people are invincible will probably have their faces swollen."
"Yes, yes. The imperial court is unwilling to be cruel. Our Zhou soldiers and horses are definitely capable of fighting against the Liao people. However, there are some people in the imperial court who have no idea what purpose they have. They keep badmouthing our Zhou soldiers.
Ma. I wish I could be the son of the Liao people. This battle has taught the world that the Liao people are nothing more than this. Although we have ten thousand more troops than the opponent, we are attacking the city. That is different from field battles."
Everyone was talking about it, their expressions and words were full of pride and excitement. Han Gang and Ma Qingshan looked at each other, Ma Qingshan nodded slightly, stood up and said: "Generals, this battle will enhance the power of our Great Zhou Dynasty, and you will also It is certain that we will become famous all over the world. However, even though it is a great victory, there are still some things that I need to make clear to you brothers."
Everyone cupped their hands and said, "General Ma, please speak, I'm waiting to listen."
Ma Qingshan nodded and said: "Okay, then I won't beat around the bush. Everyone, first of all, General Han and I would like to apologize to all the generals at this moment. In Bazhou not long ago, General Han and I almost forced you to come with us. To attack the Liao people, we even had to kill some of the generals who disobeyed. Some of you were actually forced to do nothing. We know this very well. General Han and I forced you to join the battle, which is really not the right thing. Therefore. Here, General Han and I apologize to you. I also ask you to be magnanimous and forgive me and General Han for what we have done."
Han Gang stood up, bowed together with Ma Qingshan, and bowed deeply to more than a dozen generals.
The generals stood up quickly to return the salute, and one general said in a deep voice: "What are you doing? The two generals are bloody people. They are unwilling to make peace with the Liao people, and they do not want to be humiliated by the Liao people. They want to prove that I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, are not a pustule. My brothers and I really didn't understand it before, but now we understand the meaning of this matter. But there is no need to apologize to us."
"Exactly, since the defeat of the army, the timidity and fear of the enemy in the general's heart cannot be eliminated, and he feels very ashamed in private. If it were not forced by the two generals, how could he be proud and proud today? How could he have eliminated the demons in the general's heart? The battle was defeated. After that, my wife and children at home wrote to me asking about the situation of the war, but I was ashamed to speak. Because the general did not kill the enemy and defend the country as they thought, but instead retreated and became discouraged and fearful of the enemy. But from now on. After that, I can proudly tell them that I will live up to their expectations and stand tall in front of them. This is the work of the two generals, and it is not too late for me to be grateful." Another general said with an moved expression. .
Ma Qingshan nodded and sighed softly: "Thank you all, thank you all. If you can think this way, General Han and I feel much better. We also killed our own people in order to go on the expedition. The dozen generals were not at fault, but we must not That's all. If there is a chance, we must make up for it. However, although you don't care about what General Han and I did, there are some things we still want to make clear. You all know that our attack on Zhuozhou this time is against our will. We violated the will of the imperial court and sent troops to fight privately. Just sending troops to fight privately would be a capital crime for General Han and I. What's more, the imperial court and Liao people have reached peace talks and the two sides are no longer at war. We messed up like this. , the Liao people must have thought that I had gone back on my word, and I was afraid that it would stir up the war between the two countries again. It was no exaggeration for General Han and I to kill the nine tribes for violating the national policy of the Zhou Dynasty. Although we won the battle, it did not change this situation. fact."
The generals smacked their lips in silence, and the joy and excitement on their faces slowly faded away, replaced by frowns. Yes, this battle was not ordered by the imperial court. It was fought privately, and after the imperial court and the Liao people successfully negotiated a peace. This This behavior is almost tantamount to rebellion, which will never be forgiven. Now I don’t know how the matter will end, and how the court and the Liao people will react.
"This battle may arouse the confidence of the imperial court, and may awaken their confidence in the strength of our Zhou soldiers and horses, so they don't have to bow down to the Liao people. But the greater possibility is that both the imperial court and the Liao people will not tolerate us, and we will be afraid in the future
We have to face an extremely embarrassing situation. Mr. Han and I have nothing to do with it, because our original intention in raising the army is to die on the battlefield fighting the Liao people. We are unwilling to surrender to the Liao people. Even if we die, we will kill the Liao dogs.
I would like to express my condolences to Privy Yang and the heroic souls of the hundreds of thousands of Zhou soldiers who died at the gate of Xijinfu. We cannot bow down to the Liao people while the heroic souls of these soldiers are still alive. In other words, General Han and I are here to die.
. But you are different. You were forced to come here by us. After this battle, the future is uncertain, and we don’t know what will happen. This battle has been won. General Han and I cannot bear to see you follow us to die. You
You have done what you should do, so General Han and I have decided to let you go. You don’t have to worry about punishment from the court. General Han and I have taken full responsibility for this. General Han and I will report to the court and inform the court of this matter.
It was me and General Han who did it. You were coerced by us, and the court will not hold you accountable. In addition, you can also tell the court that you led your troops to leave on your own. The court will never blame you. So, from now on,
"Get up, you can lead your troops back to Bazhou. General Han and I swear that if I deceive you, I will be punished by heaven and earth, and you will never be reincarnated after death." Ma Qingshan said.
