Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 867 It’s better to leave the remaining brave men to chase the poor bandits

The Song army's front began to collapse, and Su Chen ordered a general offensive. He planned to use the remaining troops to pursue the enemy and would not give up the Song reinforcements easily. He would mainly use a war of annihilation.

Seeing that he was defeated and Pengcheng was about to be lost, Li Chugeng made a prompt decision and led the 30,000 central troops to retreat first. Zhang Yongde commanded the vanguard troops to break out, but his troops were already firmly trapped in the encirclement of Wu's army.

Zhang Hui and Fu Yanqing led their troops to support and cover the rear respectively, fighting fiercely while retreating. Even though the Song army was known for its strict discipline and bravery in combat, it had to be in a passive position in front of the Wu army with high morale.

"Kill!" The shouts of the Wu army became louder and louder. They fought more and more bravely, chasing the Song army all the way and forcing them to retreat step by step.

At this time, smoke rose in the sky above Pengcheng, and the entire city was in a precarious situation.

"We must rush back to Pengcheng as soon as possible to relieve the siege of Pengcheng! There are three months' worth of food and supplies for a hundred thousand troops in the city, as well as a large amount of property. We must not let the Wu army occupy it."

As the deputy envoy of the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty, Li Chugeng had handled many military affairs. He knew that the troops that Bianjing could mobilize against the main force of the Song army were getting fewer and fewer, and the supply of food and grass was becoming increasingly tight. At this critical moment, Pengcheng, a strategic location, must not be lost, otherwise the Wu army would use it as a foothold to further threaten the Central Plains.

Moreover, the Wu army had already penetrated deep into the territory of the Song Dynasty, the Huainan region, far away from the logistical supply line of Jiangnan, and its manpower and supply were also in trouble. Once the Wu army occupied Pengcheng and obtained a large amount of supplies in the city, it would be tantamount to aiding the enemy, which would greatly ease the supply pressure of the Wu army and make its military operations in the Central Plains more unscrupulous.

Li Chugeng led the Song army in a hasty retreat, and they kept on going. When they passed a mountainous area, suddenly, a rain of arrows shot out like locusts, densely covering the retreating Song army.

shhhhhh!

Thousands of arrows fell like a blanket of dust, as many as five or six thousand. Many Song soldiers were running, defenseless, and had never thought that an ambush would happen.

"Ah——" Screams came one after another, and the screams were endless.

"No, there's an ambush!"

The faces of many Song army captains and generals turned pale in an instant. They were ambushed here and the situation suddenly became precarious.

Li Chugeng quickly gave the order: "Prepare to fight the enemy!" However, a sense of foreboding also surged in his heart, as if he had foreseen the disaster that was to come.

At this moment, some black gunpowder shells emitting black smoke rose into the air and whistled towards the long snake formation of the Song army.

The shells fell into the formation, making a deafening explosion. The combination of firearms and bows and arrows launched several rounds of fierce shooting at the Song army.

This sudden attack caused the Song army, whose morale was already low, to fall into chaos. The soldiers fled in all directions or fought in groups of three or five with shields. The originally neat square formation was instantly thrown into disarray, and the number of casualties rose sharply.

Lin Renzhao stood on the mountainside, watching the situation with a keen eye. When he saw that the threat of arrows was gradually reduced and the Song army began to seek cover and hide, he made a prompt decision and immediately ordered a charge.

The 25,000 elite soldiers rushed out from all directions like a tiger descending from the mountain, surrounding the Song army like a turtle in a jar with nowhere to escape.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The shouts and cries of killing rose up into the sky, shaking the earth and the sky.

The battlefield was filled with the flashing of swords and the shadow of spears. Blood was splattering everywhere and heads were rolling on the ground. Soldiers from both sides were fighting fiercely and the scene was extremely tragic.

Originally, the combat power of the two sides was almost the same, but at this time, the Wu army was well prepared, fighting bravely and fearlessly, full of confidence, so the morale was high and unstoppable. The reinforcements of the Song Dynasty were already retreating, and their morale was low. After being ambushed, they became more depressed and timid, and their combat power was greatly reduced. The Wu army firmly suppressed the Song army, launched local operations, and constantly encircled, blocked, and divided the enemy. This was a carefully planned annihilation war that put the Song army in a desperate situation.

Li Chugeng's face turned pale instantly, and he felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart. He suddenly realized the tactics of the Wu army, which was clearly a strategy to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

What was happening to Pengcheng at this moment? Was it already captured by the enemy? Should he go back to rescue it?

These questions swirled in Li Chugeng's mind like a tangled mess, making him extremely anxious.

He looked up in the direction of Pengcheng and saw billowing smoke rising into the sky. An ominous premonition became stronger and stronger, and the possibility of Pengcheng being lost was very high.

In the rear, the armies of Zhang Hui and Fu Yanqing were entangled by the Wu army and were fighting and retreating. The front army led by Zhang Yongde suffered heavy losses, with less than 3,000 people left. They were trying to break out in several directions, but in the end only a few hundred people were left.

"General Li, in which direction should we break out?" a deputy general asked anxiously.

"Northwest, Pengcheng!"

Li Chugeng answered without hesitation. Pengcheng was in the northwest, and he decided to go back and take a look no matter what. Giving up Pengcheng was too much for him to bear.

After all, Pengcheng's strategic location was too important, and he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart. In case Pengcheng was still holding on, their troops might be able to return and enter the city smoothly, and hold their positions together with the defenders in the city, or cooperate with the outside forces to disperse the Wu army outside the city and turn the tide of the battle.

After a fierce battle, Li Chugeng, with his outstanding command ability, finally led his troops out of the siege.

However, at this time, there were only seven or eight thousand people left by his side, and they fled towards Pengcheng in a panic. Li Chugeng was full of guilt and helplessness towards those soldiers who failed to break through, but due to the situation, he could only temporarily ignore them.

At dusk, Li Chugeng led the remaining troops and arrived at the foot of Pengcheng. However, the scene that came into view was like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the remaining hope in their hearts. On the top of the city, the flags of the Wu army fluttered in the wind, and the bright symbol was particularly dazzling in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"General, Pengcheng has been lost."

The soldiers beside him exclaimed, their tone full of shock and frustration.

Li Chugeng's heart was like being hit by a heavy hammer, and he regretted it endlessly. From the beginning to the end, it was not because he was not careful enough, nor was it because he was negligent in leading the troops, but because the Wu army's calculations were too cruel. They did not confront the main force of the Song Dynasty in the Suqian area, but dared to quietly go north and ambush the reinforcements of the Song Dynasty. At the same time, they mobilized another army to penetrate Pengcheng and attack the Song army unexpectedly, causing the Song army to suffer a great loss.

"This Jiangzuo Su Lang should not be underestimated, his reputation is well-deserved!"

Li Chugeng suddenly realized that he had fallen into the trap carefully set by the other party since the moment he saw Su Chen during the confrontation, but he was unaware of it and still wanted to start a war with Wu Jun. As a result, he not only consumed a large number of troops in vain, but also fell into a quagmire without knowing it.

"General, what should we do next?" A Du Yuhou stepped forward and asked, with a hint of anxiety and confusion in his tone.

Li Chugeng felt exhausted, and faced with Jiangzuo Su Lang, he found it increasingly difficult to deal with him.

He pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Retreat, retreat to the direction of Yingtian Prefecture, stay in Dangshan County, and gather troops. Go and deliver battle reports to other generals, wait for the remaining troops to gather, and then make plans." At this moment, he could only preserve his strength and wait for the opportunity to make plans later.