Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 850 Forced to Retreat
Dawn arrived quietly, and the sky gradually turned pale, covering this bloody night with a thin veil.

Among the five major camps of the Song army, only the central army was able to maintain its position. The other four camps were caught in a vortex of chaos. The sounds of fighting and shouting were intertwined and shook the earth.

This night was undoubtedly an unforgettable nightmare for the Song army.

However, the imperial guards, as the elite of the Song Dynasty, did not completely collapse even in the face of desperate circumstances. They gritted their teeth and fought desperately, so that even though the Wu army launched an overwhelming offensive, they were unable to completely devour their opponents overnight.

"Kill!"

The soldiers on both sides had forgotten about life and death, and only knew to brandish their weapons and rush towards each other again and again.

The battle gradually evolved from a confrontation in front of the battle array to a chaotic battle in the camp. Soldiers were either fleeing or fighting, and the scene was extremely chaotic. However, in this chaos, half of the Song soldiers still chose to stay and fight a desperate battle with the Wu army.

They fought all night, and although they suffered heavy casualties, they did not completely collapse.

In the left army camp, under the leadership of Wang Zhengzhong, the soldiers fought back bravely; in the right army camp, Shi Baoji was in charge, and the soldiers followed closely behind him.

It was thanks to the tenacious resistance of these brave generals and soldiers that the Song army was able to avoid a complete defeat.

It has to be said that the combat effectiveness of the army at the beginning of the Song Dynasty was far beyond the reach of those pampered soldiers a hundred years later.

"Sir, it's dawn. The time to break out has come." Dang Jinbu hurried over to report with a serious look on his face.

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes were as sharp as torches, and he gave the military order in a deep voice: "Immediately pass the order, the entire army will retreat towards Suqian first. After marching five miles, all troops will quickly assemble and then turn south." Although his voice was not loud, it revealed an unquestionable firmness.

"Yes!" After receiving the order, Dang Jin turned around and left quickly, sending messengers to shuttle between the camps like arrows to convey military orders.

In a flash, the central army was ready to go, and like an unstoppable torrent, they launched a fierce breakout towards the narrow gap between the rear camp and the southern camp. Although there were layers of Wu troops blocking them along the way, they were all like chickens and dogs under the iron hoofs of the Song Dynasty's imperial army and were scattered one after another.

"The Song army broke through!"

"They're starting to retreat!"

The news spread quickly among the Wu army soldiers like wildfire. Seeing that the Song army began to retreat, the fighting spirit of the Wu army soldiers became more and more high.

After two or three days of fierce fighting, the 200,000 Song troops were already exhausted and could no longer withstand the Wu army's frenzied bombardment and fierce offensive.

The soldiers of Wu army seemed to see the dawn of victory, and they rushed forward bravely, vowing to completely defeat the Song army.

"Kill! We must annihilate all the Song army!"

The soldiers of the Wu army roared, charging forward like a raging torrent. The defense lines of the South Camp and the North Camp had gradually fallen apart, with less than a quarter of the soldiers still resisting tenaciously, while the rest had either shed blood on the battlefield, were seriously injured, or fled in the chaos.

The soldiers of the vanguard camp shouldered the heavy responsibility of covering the rear. They gritted their teeth and fought desperately to resist the frontal attack of the Wu army. Every knife and every gun condensed their endless courage and determination, vowing to buy more time for the army to retreat.

The baggage camp of the rear army had already given up the futile attempt to put out the fire. More than 10,000 soldiers withdrew in chaos and followed the main army in a hasty retreat.

Although the Wu special forces who attacked the camp were extremely brave, their numbers were limited, only 3,000. They fought hard to stop and killed thousands of Song soldiers, but they were unable to stop all the soldiers in the rear camp from escaping.

In this chaotic retreat, Zhao Kuangyin led tens of thousands of elite soldiers, as well as many deserters who could not find their team, all the way west, rushing towards Suqian. After walking for several miles, they suddenly turned and rushed south, heading straight for Linhuai where Cao Bin was. They wanted to join Cao Bin's army, regroup, and make further plans.

However, on the way to Suqian, Zhao Kuangyin and others cleverly avoided the 20,000 ambush troops of the Wu army.

The ambushers thought they could stop the Song army in one fell swoop, but they didn't expect Zhao Kuangyin to be so cunning and changeable. They came up empty-handed and could only watch the Song army leave.

Su Chen was slightly startled when he heard the news, and secretly sighed that Zhao Kuangyin still had some talent. He did not choose to go north or retreat to Suzhou, but unexpectedly turned to Linhuai. This risky move was really unexpected.

"Humph, in that case, we should concentrate our forces and pursue the Song army. We must completely encircle and annihilate this vanguard army that has been cut off!"

Su Chen's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. Since he couldn't completely wipe out the main force of the Song army, he had to let Zhao Kuangyin taste the pain of losing elite troops. These elite imperial guards were the backbone of the Song army!
Following Su Chen's order, the Wu army pressed forward again, with the swordmen and spearmen charging side by side, their sharp edges like blades, pointing directly at the Song army. They were so imposing that they seemed to want to completely devour the Song army.

On the Song army side, Tian Chongjin led the vanguard, fighting and retreating in an orderly manner.

He was fully aware of the heavy responsibility he shouldered, and even if he died on the battlefield, he would buy time for the main force's retreat and cover their safe evacuation. This perseverance and courage is truly admirable.

"Come on!"

Accompanied by deafening shouts, a cavalry force of several thousand Wu soldiers came roaring like a gale, attempting to kill their way into the Song army in one fell swoop.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Tian Chongjin was furious when he saw this scene. He knew very well that the impact power of cavalry was extremely terrifying. If the Wu cavalry rushed into the formation, the consequences would be disastrous.

So he quickly gave orders, and the spear phalanx immediately formed a three-dimensional defensive formation, like a solid wall of steel, ready to block the fierce attack of the Wu cavalry.

Boom! The thunderous sound of horse hooves was deafening, and the Wu cavalry came like a surging tide.

Before their eyes, the Song army's red tassel spear formation was like a dense jungle, with long spears pointing diagonally and the tips of the spears flashing cold light, which made people feel terrified. However, the Wu army cavalry showed no fear, as they knew that in such a charging formation, stopping meant death, and only by moving forward bravely could they survive from death!

Thousands of Wu cavalry rushed towards the Song army formation like wild horses that had broken free from their reins. The swords and spears in their hands were swung out as their horses galloped, like sharp long knives, instantly cutting the throats and piercing the chests of many Song army soldiers.

Blood splattered, screams rang out, and the battlefield instantly turned into hell on earth.

However, the Song army did not give in. They held their spears and halberds tightly, stabbing at the soldiers and horses, showing a tenacious resistance.

Once a Wu cavalryman was shot and fell off his horse, it would hinder the momentum of the cavalry behind him, causing them to be surrounded by the Song army and eventually become victims of the sword.

War is cruel, and it is impossible to fight without casualties. However, the Wu army's wing-grazing fighting style cleverly avoided a head-on collision with the Song army and reduced casualties to a minimum.

After the cavalry of more than 10,000 people galloped past, the Song army's originally dense formation was broken into pieces by the powerful momentum.

At this time, the Wu army cavalry and infantry in the rear continued to surge like a torrent. They brandished their weapons and directly broke into the Song army camp, launching a more intense charge.

On the battlefield, the flashes of swords and the shadows of sabers intertwined into one, the soldiers of both sides fought bloody battles, life and death depended on each other, and the battlefield in the wilderness was fierce and in full swing.

Su Chen stood in the distance, looking straight ahead with a cold look in his eyes, determined to defeat this stranded Song army!