After Li Keyong made the decision, the order to withdraw troops was quickly issued to all ministries.
On the night of the first day of October, Li Cunzhang personally led more than 10,000 soldiers from Ying, Mo, Ji, and Ping prefectures and Tutuan villagers out of the camp to storm the Xia army's camp.
Before the battle, Li Cunzhang gave away all the looted property and personally boosted morale. Afterwards, he personally supervised the battle with his own soldiers. Anyone who was ineffective in the battle or refused to patrol would be beheaded immediately.
Therefore, the Jin army managed to boost their morale for a while and launched a wave of attacks.
"You quickly lead your troops and find a place to set up an ambush among the clear ponds and long reeds. If the Xia people pursue them, they will surely advance quickly with light troops, and they will suffer a big loss." Li Cunzhang grabbed Li Siben and lowered his voice,
Secretly instructed.
If the Xia people want to pursue, they will inevitably face the problem of whether to wear armor or not. Armor is divided into three categories: iron armor, leather armor, and cloth armor (the protection is better than nothing, it can also be said to be no armor). Whether it is iron armor or leather armor, it will hinder movement.
Do you want to wear it or not?
If you don't wear it and the light troops advance quickly, I will prepare troops to intercept you. Li Siben was there to do this.
The fire was raging and the battle continued.
When the Xia people were attacked at night, they did not panic and responded appropriately. Most of them did not even get up. Only the night watch sergeants were fighting. The supporting sergeants got up and sat on the ground, ready for support.
Of course Li Cunzhang knew that he could not capture the Xia people's camp. They stretched for more than ten miles and had strong troops. If he wanted to defeat them, he could only create chaos, break one of their camps, then set fire to them, beat drums, shout, and send cavalry everywhere.
Archery is only possible in this way. Moreover, there have been many examples of such battles in ancient times, and they have resulted in the glorious achievements of some famous generals, which are well written.
But after Li Cunzhang tried it, he found that it didn't work.
The Xia people responded very professionally. The night sergeants fought normally, and the supporting sergeants stayed in the barracks and sat on the ground in the tents to prepare themselves. Others continued to sleep, making loud noises to spread fear, and those who moved around without military orders were shot and killed with random arrows.
The person is guilty of meritorious service.
This army cannot allow you to create chaos and take advantage.
"Follow your orders." Li Siben seemed to have expected this and took the order and left.
Li Cunzhang thought for a while, summoned his generals, and said: "Go to the camp and recruit all the cavalry to prepare for counterattack. Don't worry about the Xia thieves' cavalry, just keep an eye on their infantry."
"Stay behind. If I leave, this way..." the general hesitated.
"I can't die yet." Li Cunzhang scolded him and said, "Go and handle it quickly."
"As ordered." The general left in a hurry.
Li Cunzhang continued to stare at the battlefield ahead.
The offensive was still fierce, but he knew that it could not last long. The morale boosted by the wealth came and went as quickly as it came. Even with military law as a deterrent, it would not last long.
But he didn't care. As long as he attracted the Xia people's attention, it would be worth sacrificing many people.
As for the state soldiers and local regiments, what can be done if they die? As long as you bring back the best soldiers and Youzhou is still in your hands, rebuilding the military force in these places is just a matter of words.
As for whether he can take elite soldiers and strong generals with him, it is up to fate to do everything he can. Retreating especially tests the level of a general. Some people return with their entire army, while others have their entire army wiped out. Anyway, he has tried his best and arranged everything he should and should not do.
Okay, let’s leave it to God to decide.
Basically, Li Cunzhang still has some confidence. Of course, the battlefield is changing, and no one can say what will happen. He is also mentally prepared for losses, and everything depends on the outcome of this gamble.
****
The camp was crowded, but there were very few people talking. Occasionally a few made a noise, but they were quickly scolded by the officers and had to shut up.
Everyone's expressions were very complicated. The recruits looked excited and packed up all kinds of things quickly, including the stolen goods. The veterans looked solemn. They abandoned many unnecessary things and only brought valuable soft goods.
Of course, there are also life-saving weapons.
You can bring some heavy armor and load it on a cart. Long guns are also placed on the cart. These are all things that will greatly affect your journey.
It is very important to remove these, swords, bows and arrows, because this is the only equipment they have to fight back when the enemy is chasing them - if they are too late to wear armor and get a spear.
The camp door has been opened, and some sergeants are the first to leave the camp. The auxiliary soldiers drove the carts, loaded with food, equipment, property and other materials, and disappeared into the vast night.
They didn't dare to raise fire, so they could only rely on the mountains and rivers geography that they were familiar with when stationed in the past two months, and quietly set out on the road.
After the first group of people left, there was the second group. Everyone was silent and hurried on.
And this is just the first camp.
It is impossible for a 50,000-strong army to have only one camp. In fact, there are seven or eight camps in total. This is relatively small. Sometimes there can even be more than ten, depending on the local terrain. Generally speaking, people refer to the 50,000-strong army camp.
, in fact, it is just the largest camp where the coach is located.
Tonight, most of the camps have received orders to withdraw, while some of the camps that are close to the Xia people have not received any news at all.
Obviously, they were abandoned, just like the part of the state soldiers and native regiments who were currently counterattacking the Xia army camp.
The battlefield is so cold and cruel.
The army walked silently, and Li Si'en handed over the horse to his own soldiers to hold it, and finally looked back to the south.
The beating of drums never stopped, the sound of killing resounded in the night sky, and the fierce fighting continued.
Poor people! He sighed. He sympathized with those people, but that was all. People are selfish, and this kind of thing has never stopped happening since ancient times.
"Xilulu!" The horse suddenly raised its hooves and neighed loudly.
Everyone's expressions changed.
Li Si'en frowned. Even in the darkness, he seemed to be able to see the nervous expressions on the soldiers' faces.
The auxiliary soldiers quickly calmed down the horses, and the army continued to move forward.
Li Si'en subconsciously tightened the handle of the knife at his waist, then tightened it and loosened it.
With such a nervous look, even if he can escape today, how can he resist the Xia people who will chase him all the way tomorrow?
I remembered the sound of horses neighing in the distance again.
Li Si'en just glanced at it and didn't pay much attention. He knew that it was a battle between rangers and scouts from both sides.
The battle between the Rangers has existed from the beginning.
The meaning of their fight is to prevent the other party from getting close to their own camp to spy on them. Therefore, the arrangement is light in front and heavy in the back. That is, the closer they are to their own camp, the more rangers and the stronger their strength. They repeatedly drive and kill the other party's spies, covering them up.
One's own movements.
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the former Tang Dynasty, liked to take a few rangers to inspect enemy camps.
He was often discovered by others, and then used his magic skills to escape. This kind of exploration was obviously a failure because he was driven away, but he did demonstrate his martial prowess.
"Have a rest for half an hour." After walking for most of the night, Li Si'en looked at the sky and ordered.
The messenger quickly issued the order to all ministries. The more than 7,000 sergeants breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the ground one after another, seizing the time to regain their strength.
Li Si'en found a high place and tried to overlook the entire wilderness. But the sky was still dark and he couldn't see anything, which made him a little worried.
He didn't know where the other troops had retreated. He was holding a grass stem lightly, feeling uneasy.
****
"Dong dong dong..." The war drums beat, the camp door opened, and a large group of soldiers filed out and formed an array in the wilderness.
The wilderness is full of discarded weapons and armor, chariots and horses, and war equipment. Bodies can be seen everywhere, even layer upon layer on trench walls and stockade walls. Judging from the cause of death, most of them were arrow wounds.
There are not many people lying on the ground who can move. It was a cold night, and those who can survive after being injured are fierce people. Even if there are, I will chop you into pieces and send you on your way.
The farther away from the trench wall, the fewer the corpses. It is obvious that after the Jin army failed to attack the camp and retreated, the Xia army did not rush to pursue it. Instead, they kept calm and waited until dawn before dispatching.
There were Jin cavalry moving in the distance of the battlefield. They were leading their horses, holding horned bows in their hands, and were looking at this side warily.
The bandit camp was several miles away and could not be seen clearly from the ground, but Zang Dubao had a panoramic view of everything after climbing to the high platform in the camp.
There seemed to be fewer people in the camp.
"Someone is trying to hide it." Zang Dubao stroked his beard and sneered.
He was a little surprised when he heard that the Jin soldiers were attacking the camp in large numbers last night, and subconsciously judged that the Jin soldiers were about to retreat. However, because of the darkness of the night, he did not let anyone attack to avoid being taken advantage of by the enemy.
However, in the second half of the night, he still sent sentries to other camps and asked them to select the elite and go out to test them.
Well, there is no news yet. But he is not in a hurry. It doesn't matter even if this group of people really falls into a trap. He can afford to die.
"Li Lin!" Zang Du secured the high platform and called Li Lin, the military envoy to the left wing.
"The end will be here." Li Lin responded.
"You take command of three infantrymen and four cavalrymen and attack the middle camp of the Jin rebels." Zang Dubao ordered.
"As ordered." Li Lin accepted the order and left.
"Wang Jianji!" Zang Dubao shouted again.
"The end is here!"
"You have five cavalry under your command. You can ride on horseback, bypass the bandit camp from the left, and search from the rear. If anyone dares to block it, attack him without suspicion."
"As commanded."
"Cow Ceremony!"
"The last general is here!" Yu Hou Niu Li, the commander of the Tianxiong Army, responded as he came out of the queue.
"You go to the left camp, take the right wing and Tu General, two infantry commanders, and two cavalry commanders, and pass through the rebel camp to test their quality."
"I will obey your orders," Niu Li replied.
He understood that his mission was actually similar to that of Wang Jianji. He wanted to test whether the Jin people still had enough troops to stop them. If not, they must have run away and just chased them.
"Send an order to General Kang's envoy to rectify his troops and storm Cangzhou." Zang Dubao issued the last order, then returned to his tent and waited quietly for the news.
Suddenly, the Xia army marched forward in large numbers and attacked the Jin army camp and Cangzhou City opposite.
The first ones to arrive were actually two thousand infantry led by Xie Bin, the military envoy on the right side of the Tianxiong army. They were the first to leave the city to clean up the battlefield, and went all the way to the bandit camp. As a result, the oncoming arrows were sparse, and the camp
There were even people shouting loudly.
Obviously, after their group arrived, the morale of the Jin army collapsed. I don't know what happened.
"Today!" Xie Bin held up his mace.
"It's just a matter of death!" Two thousand sergeants swarmed forward, hacking with swords and axes, dismantling the small security stronghold, then placing wooden boards on top of the trench and rushing through.
The Jin people on the wall fled in all directions, and then spread to the camp gate. The Xia soldiers rushed over, chopped with axes, and pulled with horses. The camp gate collapsed, revealing the true appearance inside.
"Inform the envoy that the thief has escaped. You can pursue him as soon as possible." Xie Bin laughed.
The soldiers understood the situation and immediately went to convey the message.
Pursuing quickly and pursuing slowly are completely different concepts, and the effects are also very different.
Some chase the enemy hard and insist on giving up, such as the Qing soldiers chasing Li Zicheng, without giving him a chance to take a breath and reorganize his troops.
There are also those who deliberately slow down the pursuit speed so as not to put too much pressure on the enemy, such as Zhao Chongguo's pursuit of Xianling Qiang.
How to choose depends entirely on the actual situation at the time. If Xie Bin can realize that he should pursue quickly at this moment, at least his ability to read the battlefield is up to standard, and his entry into the martial arts hall has not been in vain.
