Chapter 120: The decisive battle at Hulao Pass (8)
Having defeated Dou Jiande's last amulet so easily, Li Shimin was naturally overjoyed.
He could clearly see that just over 200 steps ahead, Dou Jiande was fleeing in panic with only a few dozen riders.
Due to the suddenness of his escape, he even threw away the emperor's flag and ceremonial tent, showing his panic.
"Chase, chase quickly!"
"The one wearing golden armor in front is Dou Jiande!"
Li Shimin was so excited that he pointed his sword forward to guide the army to its target. When he saw the Xia army's deserters getting in the way, he shouted: "Don't block the road, kneel down to avoid death!"
"Don't block the road, kneel down and avoid death!"
A group of black armored soldiers and winged cavalry also shouted that in normal times, as long as the enemy did not kneel down and surrender, they would kill them without ceremony.
Because the military law of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that the head is the military merit!
But now, there is Dou Jiande and a group of big fish in front of him. If he catches any one, he will eat and drink enough, so he has no interest in dealing with a group of small shrimps.
Hearing the shouts of the Tang army, many Xia army guards knelt down and raised their hands, and surrendered neatly.
No matter how kind Dou Jiande is to them, his life is not important.
Suddenly, the resistance of the Tang army dropped significantly, and the four thousand horsemen pumped their horses wildly, regardless of horsepower, just to close the distance with Dou Jiande as soon as possible.
In particular, brothers Li Shimin and Li Daoxuan ran at the front because of their good horses and excellent riding skills.
But Dou Jiande fled desperately to the rear army more than a mile away.
Although not far to the southeast was the Xia Army's continuous camp, and the nearest Qianzhai was even closer, Dou Jiande did not dare to go there at all.
The main force of the Xia army has gone out to fight, leaving only a few hundred or even a thousand defenders in each camp.
With just such a small number of people, it would be great if they didn't scatter in a panic when the situation collapsed. How could they resist Tang Qi who was chasing after them?
Therefore, he could only escape to the rear army.
Anyway, there are still more than 20,000 Xia troops there. As long as the rear army general Shi Zan can stabilize his position, the entire army will not be wiped out.
That way, even if he loses this battle miserably, as long as he can return to Hebei, he will have a chance to make a comeback.
However, Dou Jiande's last hope was quickly dashed.
The culprits are none other than Xu Yuanlang and Meng Jiong.
These two insidious and cunning people shouted wildly, "Xia's army has been defeated." They not only led the central army to collapse, but also rushed all the way to the rear army.
Xu Yuanlang thought very simply. It was not enough to lead the central army to collapse. He also had to defeat the rear army.
Only in this way can the credit be great enough!
As a result, Xu Yuanlang's dream soon came true.
Shi Zan ran all the way back to the rear army.
Since the Tang army did not go out and the general was not around, and was still in the safest rear area, the Xia army in the rear army even let themselves fly into the sky.
Not only were they lying around, they were also walking around, and some of them were brave enough to sneak into a nearby pond to drink water.
When they heard the trumpets blaring from the front and the shouts of killing, these Xia troops were stunned and had no idea what was happening.
The general was not here, and the deputy did not dare to make the decision. He could only wait and waste a lot of precious time.
When Shi Zan rushed back, he almost died of anger when he saw more than 20,000 people in chaos.
As a result, before he could hurriedly reorganize the rear army, the central army collapsed, and countless broken troops fled madly.
The leaders seemed to be Xu Yuanlang and Meng Jiigong's subordinates. These people fled while shouting:
"The Xia army was defeated!"
"Run quickly."
"Zhang Qingte is dead!"
"Your Majesty was captured alive!"
…
In short, Xu and Meng let their subordinates shout whatever was alarmist or frightening.
Anyway, there is chaos now, and there is no chance for the rear army to distinguish the true from the false.
Shi Zan was dumbfounded when he heard this: It has only been a few minutes, and more than 50,000 Chinese troops have been destroyed? Then are the Tang troops all heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals?
The more than 20,000 rear troops were also stunned.
Didn't it mean that the Tang army was very small in number? How come there were tens of thousands of people in front of them, but they were all defeated in the blink of an eye, and even His Majesty was captured?
Shi Zan was completely helpless for a while.
He didn't know that Xu and Meng had rebelled. Seeing that the defeated army was approaching, he clapped his horse and rushed forward, shouting unwillingly: "General Xu, General Meng, where is your majesty?"
Xu Yuanlang is such a thief. He said with a "sad" look on his face: "General Shi, run away quickly. Your Majesty was captured alive by Li Shimin riding alone, and General Yin also died in the battle."
"If we don't run away, we will become prisoners."
As he said this, in order to appear realistic, he did not take the opportunity to kill Shi Zan, but as soon as he and Shi Zan were in the same body, he ran away in great panic.
Shi Zan believed it and was completely desperate.
If Dou Jiande is still there, he will definitely disperse the defeated troops, stabilize his position, and make a last-ditch effort. But if Dou Jiande is no longer there, what's the point of struggling anymore?
Seeing that Shi Zan believed him, how could the more than 20,000 rear army still doubt him?
These people looked at each other, and without waiting for Xu Yuanlang and Meng Jiong to disperse their troops and charge into the formation, they dispersed and fled for their lives.
Because we live in troubled times, everyone has experience in escaping.
While fleeing, he threw away his helmet and even his weapons, just to run faster so that he could escape back to his hometown.
When Shi Zan saw this, he gave up.
After thinking about it for a while, and not wanting to be captured by the Tang army, the general slapped his horse and left with a few personal guards.
How did he know that at this time, Dou Jiande, under the protection of Fan Yuan, was only more than a hundred steps away from the rear army!
However, fate plays tricks on people, and with just this little time, everything is irreversible.
But who made Dou Jiande so eager to escape that he even threw away the emperor's flag and ceremonial tent, otherwise Shi Zan would see him from a distance.
What a fatal misunderstanding and miss!
So, just when Dou Jiande approached the rear army and thought he was about to be rescued, under his eyes, the rear army collapsed in an instant.
"This this--"
Dou Jiande, who saw it clearly, was dumbfounded, his hands and feet were cold, and he was simply dizzy.
Of course he heard clearly the shouts of Xu and Meng's defeated soldiers, and he was very anxious in his heart, but he still had some illusions.
I imagined that Shi Zan would be smarter and not be fooled.
Unexpectedly, the newly appointed general of the rear army was as stupid as a pig. He allowed the army to collapse and fell into the mischief of others.
Shi Zan mistook me!
Dou Jiande wanted to cry but had no tears left. He wished he could eat this idiot Shi Zan alive. As long as he persisted for a moment longer, he would arrive.
"Come on, capture Dou Jiande alive."
"Don't run away from the man in gold armor in front of you."
At this moment, the Tang army behind him shouted urgently to kill. Dou Jiande turned around hastily and was surprised to see Li Shimin leading the Tang army approaching a hundred steps away.
"Your Majesty, let's go quickly!" Fan Yuan jumped anxiously.
Dou Jiande was a little confused. The rear army was gone. Where else could he escape?
Fan Yuan was still a little quick-witted: "Your Majesty, go to Shuiying! There is also General Guo's navy there. Let's take a boat directly back to Hebei."
The implication is: We don't need any of the more than 100,000 troops.
"Can you escape?" Looking at the Tang army chasing behind him, Dou Jiande was so panicked that he lost his judgment.
"Don't take anyone else with you. Just the two of us can definitely make it." Fan Yuan was heartbroken.
Dou Jiande looked behind him not far away, where Ling Jing, Qi Shanxing and other civil servants were chasing him in fear. Then he thought about Empress Cao, who was deeply in love with her husband in the imperial camp but still had no idea about it, and the smart and sensible Queen Cao who had been trained for many years.
The adopted son Dou Xiao was heartbroken for a moment.
He regretted why he tried to be brave and wanted to save Wang Shichong!
He hates that he is incompetent and suffered a disastrous defeat in the first battle!
Now, not only have the three armies been wiped out, but also the wife and children have been abandoned, and a lifetime of fame has been wasted. The lesson is really painful.
Seeing that Dou Jiande was still having trouble making up his mind, Fan Yuan became anxious: "Your Majesty, don't hesitate! We still have a hundred thousand troops in Hebei, as well as Liu Heita, Su Dingfang, Cao Dan, Gao Yaxian and other generals. As long as you go back, you will definitely
Can make a comeback."
Dou Jiande's eyes lit up when he heard this: Yes, he still has capital! Then he felt guilty, looked at Ling Jing and others apologetically, and gritted his teeth: "General Fan, you should clear the way first, let's go to Shuiying."
"promise."
Fan Yuan was overjoyed, waved his long spear, opened the way forward, and headed straight to Guo Shiheng's water camp in the northeast.
As long as they get on the ship, no matter how powerful Li Shimin is, there is nothing they can do.
For a moment, Dou Jiande and Fan Yuan, relying on their strong martial arts skills and riding rare BMWs, unexpectedly charged away with their horses.
Not to mention bringing along a group of civil servants, even the dozen or so personal guards left behind were left behind.
When Ling Jing, Qi Shanxing and others saw this, they all looked at each other. They were all civil servants. When it came to riding skills or charging and killing, they were all useless!
Dou Jiande is so good at playing, who can catch up with him!?
Seeing that Li Shimin had chased him fifty steps away, he was approaching in a blink of an eye. In despair, all the civil servants broke up and fled for their lives.
Li Shimin was too lazy to care about these civil servants at this time. Even if Dou Jiande escaped from Huali, he vowed to capture him alive!
Therefore, Li Shimin and Li Daoxuan also turned around and pursued Dou Jiande.
…
At the same time, Li Shiji, who received the big victory at the front, immediately rushed out of the gate with 10,000 troops and rushed to the battlefield with joy.
Of course, it was no longer his turn to fight.
What Li Shiji had to do was to accept prisoners, occupy the camp, seize supplies, and pocket the fruits of victory.
