Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 169

In Jizhou, Tian Chengsi sent Meng Xiyou with a contingent of troops to cross the Zhang River thirty li east of the battlefield, attempting to cut off the government army's supply lines. However, Li Ji had anticipated this and had built a fortified position every five li between Xindu and the Zhang River, arranging auxiliary troops to guard the supply route, thus preventing Meng Xiyou from taking advantage of the situation.

Although the Weizhou auxiliary troops had limited combat strength and each fortified position had only one or two hundred men, they were able to withstand several rounds of fierce attacks from the Tianxiong army by relying on their strong defenses and powerful bows and crossbows. In times of crisis, the supply wagons would retreat into the fortified positions. If Meng Xiyou did not attack, he would not be able to cut off their supplies; if he dared to attack—it was not certain that he could take the fortified position in one day, and by the next day, he might see the smoke signals and Lei Wanchun would lead his cavalry to attack from the Zhangshui pontoon bridge.

As for bypassing Xindu and heading south, the risk was too great, and Meng Xiyou dared not do it.

Moreover, the letters that Tian Chengsi secretly sent to Hu E and Qin Rui all disappeared without a trace.

Although Li Ji retained Hu E in his post, he also placed him under house arrest in the prefectural office, preventing him from intervening in city defense matters or even inciting residents to riot. Moreover, now that Hu E was allowed to remain in his post, why would he obey Tian Chengsi's orders again? If he were to betray his post repeatedly, his life would be completely ruined!

As for Qin Rui, he had a grudge against Tian Chengsi, so as long as Li Ji offered him more money, he would naturally not bother with Tian Chengsi. If you are really sincere, why don't you just give me the two prefectures of Cang and Di?

Left with no other choice, Tian Chengsi was forced to launch another all-out attack on the government troops. This time, however, Li Ji did not come out; he simply defended his fortified position. The Tianxiong army charged to the fortified position several times, but was driven back by a hail of arrows, suffering heavy losses without gaining anything.

Even Xing Caojun couldn't help but exclaim, "How powerful the Wei army's crossbows are, and how many arrows they have!" Li Ji, are you really here to attack? Why did you bring so many crossbows and arrows? It makes it seem like our army is the one that's crossing the border to launch a military campaign...

The battle stalled, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Spies had already reported that the Zhaoyi Army, after several days of fierce attacks, had captured Nangong County and Tangyang County—Tangyang was fifty li north of Nangong, on the north bank of the Zhang River, and should have been of no concern to the overall battle, yet the Zhaoyi Army deliberately divided its forces to attack it, as if their sole purpose this time was to seize territory, each additional county a gain.

After capturing both counties, the Zhaoyi army finally accelerated its advance. It is said that the commander-in-chief was Xue Song's younger brother, Xue E, leading no fewer than 20,000 infantry and cavalry…

Left with no other option, Tian Chengsi began to consider a retreat. He discussed with his officers and generals, saying, "Li Ji is holding firm and not coming out, clearly trying to hold us back while waiting for the Zhaoyi and Hedong armies to come and encircle us. Now we cannot break through their stronghold, and we are unwilling to retreat to Wuqiang..." If they were to attack all the way to our doorstep, then we would have already lost half the battle. If we wanted to turn the tide, we could only hope that the enemy would run out of supplies and retreat. Tian Chengsi really disliked the feeling of having the initiative in the hands of the enemy.

"The only option now is to surrender... I will submit a memorial to apologize, demolish the shrine to the Four Saints, and earnestly request the court's leniency... But I do not know if the court will agree? And how will they deal with me?"

Wang You sighed, "Perhaps through the military supervisor, we can contact the eunuch Wang (Wang Jiahe) and ask him to speak to the Emperor..."

Xu Shize said, "It is only right that Commander Tian submits a memorial to apologize..." Since you do not intend to raise the flag of rebellion, then regardless of whether you are truly guilty, since the imperial order has been issued to punish you, you must apologize. We have already advised you on this, but you did not listen. "However, the journey to Chang'an is long, and I fear that by the time the imperial order is issued, we will all be gone! We must devise a better strategy in military affairs. Even if we hold our ground, should we defend Hengshui or Wuqiang, or abandon Wuqiang and temporarily retreat to Yingzhou? I implore Commander Tian to make a decision as soon as possible."

While Tian Chengsi was still hesitating, two pieces of incredibly good news suddenly arrived!

The first piece of good news is that the Hedong Army won't be coming.

After receiving the imperial edict, Xin Yunjing ordered his deputy military commissioner, Cui, to lead 5,000 troops to cross the Taihang Mountains, pass through Chengde, and seize Jizhou. However, before the army even left Jingxing Pass, a mutiny broke out due to Cui's harsh treatment of his soldiers and inconsistent application of rules…

The second piece of good news is that reinforcements have arrived from Youzhou.

Tian Chengsi had a fairly good relationship with Li Huaixian, the military governor of Youzhou, so he had already sent an urgent envoy to plead for help, expressing the sentiment that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold." Li Huaixian's staff was divided into two factions: Military Commissioner Zhu Xicai and Deputy Military Commissioner Zhu Ci advocated for a firm rejection and even wanted to bind the envoy and send him to Chang'an; while another military commissioner, Li Baozhong, strongly urged the Youzhou troops to march south to rescue them.

In fact, Li Huaixian originally intended to help Tian Chengsi, fearing that if Ji and Ying provinces fell into the hands of the imperial court, it would threaten his rule in Youzhou. However, he could not go against those few surnamed Zhu... So he subtly mocked Li Baozhong, saying that if he wanted to save Tianxiong Army, he should go and save them himself. If he won, he would be able to exonerate him. If he lost, he should not implicate him.

Therefore, Li Baozhong led 3,000 elite cavalry from Mozhou southwards to provide assistance.

Upon receiving the report, Tian Chengsi couldn't help but laugh loudly, "Heaven has not forsaken me!" He thought to himself, could it be that the spirits of the Four Sages of An Lushan were protecting them and were trying to secure a good ending for their old subordinates? He didn't know why he felt that those four, who had failed in their own rebellion, would have the ability to bless others...

Therefore, he issued a proclamation to all his generals and officers: "Zhaoyi's troops are easy to kill, Xue Song is nothing more than a guard dog, and Xue E is even worse. But as long as the Hedong troops do not come, we have nothing to fear. Moreover, since the Youzhou army has marched south, it shows the nation that our Tianxiong Army is not isolated and without support. Therefore, Chengde may no longer hesitate and will come to our aid!"

The order is hereby issued: let us rest for a few days, wait for the troops from Mozhou to arrive, and fight together to drive Li Ji back to his hometown!

Meanwhile, in the government army camp, they had not yet learned of the Youzhou troops' southward advance, but they had received reports of a mutiny in the Hedong army, and that Chengde Town had gathered troops near Anping...

Li Ji had also sent people to Chengde to inquire, but Li Baochen gave a perfunctory answer, saying that it was just a routine autumn drill and had nothing to do with their campaign against Tianxiong Army—Li Ji and the others naturally did not believe him.

Tian Qianzhen analyzed, "Anping is west of the Hutuo River, quite far from us. If Chengde intends to join the rebels and aid Ji, then he should station his troops in Shenzhou south of the river; if he wants to take the opportunity to plunder Yingzhou, then he should station his troops in Raoyang east of the river—being in Anping now is merely imitating Bian Zhuang's plan to kill the tiger." Li Baochen was observing. If the government troops had the upper hand, he might go to Yingzhou to seize some territory and gain some advantage; if the Tianxiong Army had the upper hand, he might collude with Tian Chengsi to attack our flank.

"Moreover, the chaos caused by the troops in Hedong may well have been orchestrated by Li Baochen."

Li Ji nodded: "We can't count on the Hedong troops. We can only hope that the Zhaoyi Army will come to our aid as soon as possible." He paused, then asked Tian Qianzhen: "Commander Xue is a veteran general. Even if he lacks strategic talent, he must be prudent. It's a pity he didn't come this time. I wonder what kind of person his brother Xue E is?"

Tian Qianzhen shook his head: "I don't know either."

He said that the late Fanyang military governor Xue Chuyu had five sons, known as the "Five Tigers of the Xue Family." Xue Song was the eldest, while the second and third sons, Xue Long and Xue Yi, had both passed away. The fourth son, Xue Ji, and the fifth son, Xue E, were mentioned. "I have heard Xue Song say that Xue Ji was honest and kind, but he was just a brave man. As for Xue E, he has never mentioned him."

Yin Shen chimed in from the side, "Commander Xue appointed Xue Ji to command the elite troops and Xue E as his chief clerk, showing him great favor and reliance. Everyone in the town says that if Commander Xue were to pass away, and the young master is still young, then they should request that Xue E succeed him as the military governor of Zhaoyi Army..."

Li Ji sneered, "Succession from brother to brother? Does he really think this town is his own private property!"

In fact, he had talked to Li Bi before, thinking that in certain special circumstances, the military governors might succeed one another in the future—because they could win the hearts of the troops. If the court were to send a military governor there, it would be easy for trouble to arise. The problem was that this was just a prediction, and there was no precedent. Li Ji did not want this precedent to be set in his own neighborhood.

However, if the situation in Hebei does not change much, and Xue Song really kicks the bucket one day, the generals may support his brother Xue E or his son Xue Ping, and the court will probably have no choice but to accept it... Nowadays, the vassal states of Yan and Zhao can even appoint their own governors within their jurisdictions. In almost the entire Hebei, apart from Weibo and a few military supervisors, there is not a single official truly appointed by the court.

Xue Song's son, Xue Ping, was only twelve years old when Xue Song submitted a memorial at the beginning of the year requesting to be appointed as the prefect of Cizhou. The court approved the request—this twelve-year-old prefect was probably unprecedented in the Tang Dynasty, and it was unlikely to be the last of its kind...

He sighed inwardly, then said, "I only hope that Xue E is a capable general and an easy person to get along with."

Xue E's Zhaoyi Army arrived three days later. Upon meeting, they explained that their lateness was not due to being busy seizing territory, but rather to insufficient supplies—"I fear that upon arrival, I will have to ask Commander Li and Commander Qin for assistance..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "So be it. Although I don't have enough money and food, I can't do without your 30,000 men's food and supplies for ten days. Besides, you wouldn't refuse to take a single grain of food out of town, would you?"

So why did Xue E finally come? Because he had finally received the grain transported from Huainan by the imperial court.

The grain transported from the Jianghuai region, originally destined for Guanzhong via waterways, was diverted this year to Hebei for the campaign against the Tianxiong Army, thanks to the coordination of Li Bi, Liu Yan, and others. Six hundred thousand bushels of grain were transported via the Yongji Canal to Qinghe, and then overland to Xindu City. The Yongji Canal connects to the Yellow River near Liyang Mountain, within the territory of Zhaoyi Army, which allowed Xue E to have a rough estimate of its transport speed and arrival time, allowing him to arrive precisely on schedule.

The grain has arrived in Xindu and will be delivered to the front lines in succession. In addition, there is 500,000 strings of cash and silk, which will be sent north ahead of time to reward the troops and boost morale. The officials escorting the shipment are Zhao Zan, the Revenue Judge, and Ma Chengqian, the Imperial Envoy.

Li Ji and Qin Rui went out of the camp first to greet Xue E. After talking for less than half a day, the three of them came out side by side to greet Zhao Zan and Ma Chengqian. Ma Chengqian greeted Li Ji first, bowing very politely, and subtly mentioned that he had been selected by Wang Jiahe and had a good relationship with Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming. However, he was somewhat aloof towards Qin Rui and Xue E, putting on airs of an imperial envoy—Qin and Xue were displeased but dared not show it.

Ma Chengqian then read out the imperial edict, expressing the court's intention to reward the troops and encouraging them to advance together, quickly eliminate the rebels, and pacify the four prefectures. Afterwards, he handed a scroll of the edict to Li Ji, smiling as he asked, "How is the battle going? How long will it take for Commander Li to defeat the rebels?"

Li Ji casually replied, "The Zhaoyi army has just arrived today and needs to rest for a day or two before attacking Tian Ni. As long as the soldiers fight bravely, they will surely be defeated." He then asked the imperial envoy to return to camp for a while, and then turned to give Yin Shen a wink.

Li Ji was not a moral exemplar; he knew that "it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings." Who knew what Ma Chengqian, who was all smiles to his face, might be up to behind his back? If he went back to the capital and said a few bad things about him, affecting Li Yu's confidence, he might end up with nothing to show for his efforts. Therefore, he had to give the bribes he was supposed to, and he absolutely could not rely on the integrity of these eunuchs themselves.

Yin Shen understood and secretly took two hundred bolts of fine brocade and sent them to the imperial envoy's camp. Ma Chengqian pretended to refuse, saying, "General Li is a beloved general of the emperor and a key figure in Hebei. How dare I, a mere Ma, accept such a gift from General Li?" Yin Shen quickly replied, "Lord Ma has come from afar by imperial decree to bestow rewards on the battlefield. We are all grateful for the court's great favor and Lord Ma's hard work. It is only some inferior silk. I imagine Lord Ma has traveled thousands of miles and his clothes must be worn out. This silk can be used to make a few pairs of silk shoes. Please do not refuse."

Ma Chengqian then agreed to accept the gifts. After Yin Shen left, she hurriedly ordered someone to open the package and examine the bribes. Then she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her attendants, saying, "How could I bear to use such fine brocade to make shoes? Although the quantity is not large, it is still Commander Li's good intention—but I wonder what the Wu Shun and Zhao Yi armies will send?"

But after waiting and waiting, no messengers from the two armies came to deliver gifts. Instead, Zhao Zan came to ask for instructions: "How should the rewards be distributed? Lord Ma is directly appointed by the Emperor, so we should follow Lord Ma's arrangements."

Ma Chengqian sneered: "Give me 60% of the troops from Weibo, 30% from Zhaoyi Army, and 10% from Wushun Army, and that will do."

Zhao Zan frowned: "Even if we don't consider the number of soldiers assigned, the disparity shouldn't be so great—I don't understand Mr. Ma's intention."

Ma Chengqian leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Why doesn't Lord Zhao understand? As the saying goes, good steel is used to make soldiers, and bad iron is used to make plowshares. Wu Shun's army not only has few soldiers, but also looks disorganized today, as if they are just going through the motions. If the court rewards them, giving them even a small reward would be quite generous. Although Zhao Yi's army has many soldiers, they are newcomers and have not yet engaged the enemy. How can they be rewarded with a large reward without any merit?"

"Moreover, Li Weibo is a beloved general of the emperor, a confidant of the crown prince, and the cousin of Prime Minister Li, as you have long known. Therefore, as long as we take good care of Weibo, why bother with those former generals of the An Lushan Rebellion? Giving them a little something would not be unfair."

Ma Chengqian resented Qin Rui and Xue E for not sending him gifts, and also wanted to curry favor with Li Ji, hence his special treatment of Zhao Zan. Zhao Zan, however, was indecisive. He thought to himself that since the imperial envoy had spoken, even if the Zhaoyi and Wushun armies were angered in the future, it wouldn't concern him. He was just an executor, so he immediately bowed and agreed.

So the rewards were distributed. The various armies were encamped next to each other, and even with strict discipline, it was inevitable that they would occasionally visit each other to exchange information. Thus, within two days, it was clear who had received more and who had received less. Li Ji, upon hearing this, knew something was amiss and wanted to invite Qin Rui and Xue E over to explain, but before he could do anything, Wu Shun's army erupted in uproar.

The Zhaoyi army was doing relatively well, as Xue E was a newcomer and unlike the other two armies who had been holding off a superior enemy force for over ten days. They had also just looted the treasuries of Tangyang and Nangong counties, so they weren't particularly concerned. However, the soldiers of Wushun's army all said, "In terms of troop strength, we are less than half, but more than forty percent, of the Weibo army; in terms of merit, the Weibo army fought directly against the enemy, while our army protected the pontoon bridge, fighting several fierce battles. How come the rewards bestowed by the court are less than twenty percent of theirs?"

This favoritism is so unfair!

Just then, Tian Chengsi opened his camp and launched an attack...

Chapter Twenty-Four: Smoke and Flames Obscuring the Sky

On that day, Li Ziyi gathered a crowd in Yuancheng to incite unrest and pressure Yan Zhenqing, but was eventually wiped out by Yang Shigu's troops. Relying on his locality and familiarity with the city's streets and alleys, he fled in panic. Knowing that he had nowhere to go in Weibo, he was forced to head north and join Wu Shun's army.

However, because he had voluntarily switched jobs and changed units, he could only start as a junior officer—as the leader of a squad, leading fifty infantrymen.

In this battle against the Tianxiong Army, Li Ziyi fought bravely, beheading four enemy soldiers. This finally earned him Qin Rui's attention, who promoted him to deputy commander of a detachment. The Wushun Army also consisted of battalions of five hundred men, further divided into two detachments; thus, the deputy commander of a detachment was roughly equivalent to the former deputy general of a town. Li Ziyi was full of ambition, thinking that after this battle, he estimated he could regain his former position in the Weibo Army, and perhaps even rise further if he accumulated more merit!

However, soon after, many colleagues came to him to complain, saying that the court's reward was extremely unfair, with the lion's share going to Weibo—this was intolerable!

Because of his past involvement in the rebellion in Weibo, Li Ziyi joined the Wu Shun army, daring not to reveal his real name but only retaining his original surname. However, after some time, he discovered that the Wu Shun army's officers and soldiers were generally hostile to Weibo, even secretly conspiring to persuade Commander Qin to launch an attack on Weizhou. Therefore, in order to quickly integrate into this new group, he naturally spread rumors that he too was a victim of the Weibo regime's misrule…

Therefore, his colleagues no longer avoided him and even came to discuss matters with him. Someone said, "Now that we have defeated Tianxiong Army, the court may change its commander or directly control the army, and our Wushun Army will not gain any benefit. We originally thought of rewarding them, but they are being unfair to others. So why fight them? We might as well abandon the pontoon bridge, cross the Zhang River, seize the grain from Weibo, and return to our prefecture to take care of our supplies."

Li Ziyi hurriedly waved his hand: "This is absolutely unacceptable. This battle was not the intention of Weibo, but an imperial edict. If we disobey the order and surrender, how can we bear the punishment from the court in the future? Tianxiong Army is a cautionary tale."

The other party laughed and said, "What lesson from the past! The Tianxiong Army is clearly powerful, and there is no guarantee of victory in this battle. The Hedong Army cannot come, and the Zhaoyi Army seems to be mostly old and weak, and useless. Even if we continue to hold this position, we will most likely still lose. Are we going to risk our lives and not even get some money or rewards? If the Tianxiong Army survives, how can the court attack Wushun again?"

Li Ziyi frowned: "Brother, what you're saying doesn't seem like what I usually hear—who taught you to say that?"

The man gestured toward the main tent and said, "The gentlemen under Commander Qin all say the same thing." He then grabbed Li Ziyi's arm and said, "If you want to leave, then leave. The law does not punish the masses. Even Commander Qin can't do anything about it. If you ask me, back then, Old Li, you gathered too few soldiers in Weibo. If you had gathered thousands or tens of thousands, you wouldn't be in this situation today. Now that we've made this a big deal, you will definitely not be punished again."

With piercing eyes, he stared at Li Ziyi: "We all listen to you, Old Li. Tell me, are we leaving or not?"

Li Ziyi's eyes flashed, and he saw that the other deputy generals and captains had approached and were subtly surrounding him... He understood that these officers wanted to cause trouble, but they lacked the courage to do so. They hoped to find someone to take the lead. He had already stirred up a mutiny in Weibo once—although it was unsuccessful—so he was familiar with the process. Who else would they turn to if not him?

Moreover, these are all people from Beizhou, while I am the only one from Weizhou. If things fail, I won't feel guilty about being used as a scapegoat.

But he dared not disobey. Judging from the situation, if he refused firmly, he might be assassinated on the spot! He couldn't help but sigh with a bitter face: "Gentlemen, you are trying to harm me... Fine, considering that you have always treated me well, I will serve you to the death!"

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Before the government troops could launch an attack, Tian Chengsi ordered a fierce assault – because Li Baozhong, leading three thousand elite cavalry from Youzhou, had finally arrived after traveling day and night.

Although some of the soldiers and horses were exhausted, considering that the Zhaoyi Army was also new to the area, if Xue E and his men could recover and mobilize a sufficient number of fresh troops, defeating them would not be easy. Therefore, after gaining Li Baozhong's understanding, Tian Chengsi ordered the war drums to be sounded and the camp to be opened for battle.

This time, the government troops no longer held their positions at fortifications. Instead, they also set up their own formations outside the camp. Guo Mo reminded Qin Rui, "The imperial court's rewards are unfair, and there are many complaints in the army. The morale is low. Commander Qin, you must be careful."

Qin Rui smiled and waved his hand, "After this battle is over, I will go and talk to Li Ji myself, and ask him to give our army some money and silk." He then asked his men, "Has that eunuch gone yet?"

The reply stated, "The Chinese envoy departed for Chang'an half a day ago."

Qin Rui said angrily, "It's all because of these spineless bastards... They ran away so fast, I will definitely impeach them!" He then ordered the drums to be beaten and left the camp.

Half of the 30,000 Zhaoyi troops were positioned north of Weibo to protect the left flank, while the other half were positioned behind the main force. Li Ji suggested that when the battle was halfway through, the rested and refreshed Zhaoyi troops could outflank the enemy from the left flank, which would surely result in a great victory over Tian's bandits. Xue E agreed.

Unexpectedly, just as the battle was about to begin, the banners of the Youzhou army suddenly appeared in front of the battle lines. Li Ji was shocked when he heard the report: "Has Li Huaixian gone mad? How dare he send troops to aid the bandit Tian!"

Moments later, someone in Wu Shun's right wing shouted, "The iron cavalry of Youzhou has arrived! This battle is already lost, we should retreat!" The formation immediately fell into chaos, and the soldiers scrambled to cross the pontoon bridge. Qin Rui killed several people but could not stop them.

This situation was far beyond the expectations of the Tianxiong Army, but the veteran general Xing Caojun seized the opportunity and personally led his troops to seize the pontoon bridge. Qin Rui was forced to retreat step by step, and finally led several hundred of his personal guards to the pontoon bridge. He still held his spear and rode his horse, fighting fiercely against overwhelming odds. Guo Mo repeatedly advised him, "Things have come to this, and the defeat is irreversible. I implore General Qin to retreat to Zhangnan... Is General Qin really going to die here for a mere imperial decree? The court may not even offer him any posthumous honors or rewards! If you can preserve your life, there is still a chance to avenge this humiliation."

Qin Rui launched several charges in succession, but Xing Caojun's defenses were very strong. With spears in front and crossbows behind, he slowly pressed forward in a square formation. In the end, most of Wu Shun's army scattered, and the rest were in disarray and could not stabilize their position to reverse the defeat.

In desperation, he ordered a junior officer, "Go quickly to the Weibo army and tell Li Ji what I said—it wasn't me who harmed him, it was the eunuch who harmed him! I'm going first, I'll wait for him south of the Zhang River." He then led the charge, launching another counter-charge, carrying two arrows, temporarily forcing back the pursuers. He then turned his horse and stepped onto the pontoon bridge...

Xing Caojun charged to the pontoon bridge and ordered it to be set on fire—burn the bridge to cut off the government troops' retreat. Let's see if Weibo and Zhaoyi will be defeated or not!

As Li Ji received the message from Qin Rui, he saw flames shooting into the sky from the pontoon bridge in the distance. He couldn't help but curse, "How can you say it wasn't you who harmed me? It's you who made me suffer!"

He thought to himself that the angels' rewards and punishments were unfair. If you harbored resentment because of this and took the initiative to lead your troops away, I wouldn't say anything. But now your troops have rebelled and scattered in all directions. As a dignified military governor, can you not even control and lead a force of less than ten thousand men?

When I first entered Weibo, there were old soldiers who rallied together and rebelled, and later there were Li Ziyi and others who stirred up trouble... But how many years have passed? You led the Wushun Army even earlier than I led the Weibo Garrison, so how come you still can't win the hearts of your soldiers? I really overestimated you before; you're only good enough to be a Qianniu Beishen!

While Xing Caojun was flanking Wu Shun's army and burning the pontoon bridge, Tian Chengsi also intensified his attacks on the main battlefield. In particular, several thousand elite cavalry from Youzhou galloped across the front lines, their horses fast and their arrows swift, putting great pressure on the Weibo forces. This forced Li Ji to send several more battalions of fresh troops to plug gaps and stabilize the line. In Li Ji's prediction, even without the assistance of Wu Shun's and Zhaoyi's armies, he could still hold out against the main force of Tianxiong's army for one or two hours, and beyond that—he didn't believe that the enemy's soldiers were all well-rested and showed no signs of fatigue.

The problem is that Wu Shun's army did not retreat, but collapsed. Not only did they expose their right flank in an instant, but the enemy also burned down their pontoon bridge!

Although it was broad daylight and the sun was dazzling, the smoke and flames over the Zhang River obscured the sky, radiating for miles around, visible to anyone on the battlefield. Even if he had great confidence in the Weizhou defense forces under his command, and the soldiers were willing to fight to the death, they were still living, breathing human beings, not a robot army. As human beings, they had joys and sorrows, fears and anxieties. Now that the pontoon bridge had been burned and their retreat cut off, how could this not affect the fighting capacity of the soldiers at the front?

Perhaps it won't lead to any major consequences yet, as the soldiers are still waiting for their commander's orders. But as time goes by, the shadows in their hearts gradually grow, and in the end, it can only lead to the same collapse!

Li Ji was somewhat flustered and couldn't come up with a solution for the moment, so he turned to Tian Qianzhen and asked, "What does the deputy commander think we should do now?"

Tian Qianzhen said, "The only way is to urgently request the Zhaoyi Army to come up and retake the pontoon bridge—even if the bridge has been burned down, if we can ensure that the right flank does not collapse and maintain our position, we will still have a chance to repair it..."

Before he could finish speaking, a report came: "Chief Secretary Xue of the Zhaoyi Army has a message for Commander Li!"

Li Ji hurriedly asked, "What did Chief Clerk Xue say?"

"Chief Secretary Xue said that Wu Shun's army has already fled in disarray, and the defeat is inevitable and irreversible. He will retreat slowly and temporarily withdraw to Tangyang. He asked Commander Li not to cover the rear for Zhaoyi's army, but to travel west together."

Upon hearing this, even Tian Qianzhen was at a loss, stamping his feet repeatedly: "The Zhaoyi Army has 30,000 men, almost the entire division, why are they withdrawing now? They clearly intend to use Weibo as a shield—Tangyang is not an easy place to go!!"

On the surface, Xue E said, "General Li, you don't need to cover the rear for the Zhaoyi Army. Let's go west together." But what he really meant was, "Li Ji, you should leave someone to cover the rear at the cost of your life. You can run away with me."

Because a well-organized army, when arrayed in formation, can be worth a hundred men; but once it is defeated and scattered, it is no better than a flock of dogs and sheep, and will be slaughtered by the enemy like pigs and dogs. The government troops fought fiercely with the Tianxiong army here for more than half a month, and the total number of casualties was just over a thousand. If they were pursued and driven away, they could be killed in just a few hours, and more than half of them would be scattered and difficult to regroup.

Even with a planned and organized retreat in front of the enemy, the situation would not be much better, because the enemy would not be foolish enough to surrender, but would fight hard to pursue them. Therefore, there was an 80-90% chance that the retreat would turn into a complete collapse of the army. Li Ji had refused to retreat to Zhangnan before because he was certain that Tian Chengsi would not dare to withdraw his troops easily and risk being chased by the government army all the way to the city of Wuqiang.

Forced to retreat, a rearguard must be left behind, but in the current situation, this rearguard is almost certain to die—meaning they must sacrifice their own lives to save their comrades. If Xue E were courageous and responsible, he should have requested, "My Zhaoyi army is still fresh; I will cover the rear, and Weibo should retreat first." Such a clear order of fighting and retreat might have prevented the rearguard from being completely wiped out. Instead, Xue E led his troops away directly, leaving the responsibility of covering the rear to whom? Need I even say more?

Tian Qianzhen thought to himself: "Am I crazy? Covering your retreat?! Besides, our army has been fighting for a long time, and the general strength is declining. This rear line may not be secure. It's nearly a hundred miles to Tangyang. Can you guarantee that the troops will remain in good order and won't be overtaken by enemy cavalry? I estimate that before you even reach Tangyang, your army will be routed, or you may even be dead!"

At this point, sacrificing oneself might not guarantee death, while running away would mean almost certain death—this Xue E is truly a useless piece of trash!

Then he looked at Li Ji and advised, "Since things have come to this, we might as well give up. Let's rely on our horses to escape..."

Li Ji gave a bitter smile: "How many warhorses do we have in our army? Even if one or two of us escape, all the soldiers will perish here. How can we face returning to Weizhou?"

Soldiers are willing to follow you because you can lead them to victory, meaning a relatively small investment (casualties) yields massive rewards (military merits and bonuses). If it's a simple defeat, that's one thing, but if you abandon your troops and flee, can you still expect loyalty from your soldiers? Even if you dare to shamelessly escape back to Yuancheng, rebuilding the Weibo army will be more than twice as difficult as before. Not to mention, after receiving news of this defeat, will the court even allow you to remain in Hebei…

Even if Li Yu and his son trusted me, this time it was I who repeatedly petitioned to attack the Tianxiong Army, and the result was not only defeat, but such a crushing defeat. This would inevitably lead to a barrage of impeachments and universal condemnation—people don't care if you were betrayed by a useless ally—and even the emperor and prime minister would likely be unable to suppress it. Moreover, having suffered a major defeat in Hebei, how could I possibly hope to defend against the barbarians in the west?

In an instant, Li Ji was torn between his inner turmoil and countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Tian Qianzhen, Gao Ying, and the others stood by, watching as Li Shuai's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. In just a few breaths, his eyebrows suddenly shot up, his eyes widened, and he shouted sharply, "Let them retreat on their own, but I will not leave!" As he spoke, he kicked over the folding chair and drew his imperial sword with a clang: "I've already fought Qin Rui once, and now it's my turn to personally take Tian Chengsi's head!"

Tian Qianzhen had calmed down a bit by this time. After all, he was a veteran general. He immediately nodded and said, "The general is right. If we retreat now, the army will surely collapse. Even if we few manage to escape with our lives, we will not be able to escape the execution of the imperial court. The best course of action now is to fight our way forward, force back the enemy in front of us, and then slowly retreat into our camp to make further arrangements."

He then grabbed Li Ji's arm and said, "But as the commander of an army, the general should not venture into dangerous territory lightly. Let's call back General Lei and ask him to lead the cavalry in a counterattack."

Li Ji shook off Tian Qianzhen's pull and shook his head: "It's too late." Lei Wanchun led his cavalry on patrol on the left flank, originally intending to wait for an opportunity to cooperate with the Zhaoyi Army to launch a flanking attack and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop; now that smoke and flames are rising on the Zhang River, he couldn't possibly not see them, so he should hurry back to the central government and volunteer to go to the aid. Since he is still nowhere to be seen, he is probably being held up by the enemy.

Furthermore, if my Weibo army were to abandon the entire left flank, I estimate that Xue E would not dare to immediately order a retreat.

So Li Ji shoved Tian Qianzhen and said, "The deputy commander is old. Now, the only one who can carve out a way out for you all is me, Li!" He then raised his sword and shouted, "Horses, spears!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Sacrificing One's Life

Tian Chengsi sat at the rear of the battle line. Upon receiving the report of Wu Shun's army's defeat, he saw thick smoke rising from the Zhang River and couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "Victory! Victory!"