Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2639 Withdrawal
"You're all scared out of your wits just because of someone who hasn't even shown up yet?"

"We don't even know if she shot that arrow!"

General Zhou paused for a moment, then said, "Only she has that ability."

Wu Chanlu was furious. "Even if she's capable, how many people can she kill by herself? She only killed a little over two hundred people just now!"

"Don't forget, you are rebels. If we don't capture Luoyang, do you think Yelü Hua will let you go?"

"A group of people who dared to let foreign enemies into their own country, are actually afraid to fight because of a single name?" Wu Chanlu sneered. "If you are captured by the Northern Wei royal family, you will only suffer an even more terrible death!"

General Zhou was not provoked as Wu Chanlu had expected. "The Northern Wei royal family is not as terrifying as that woman."

"What did you say?" Wu Chanlu was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that these soldiers who dared to betray the royal family would be more afraid of Ying Baoyue.

“Even if I force my men to go to war now, it won’t work,” General Zhou sighed. “The veterans who are willing to obey my orders are basically people who have been guarding the border for more than ten years.”

"So what?" Wu Chanlu frowned.

“These people have all met Princess Zhaoyang before,” General Zhou raised his head, a complex emotion surging in his wooden eyes for the first time. “Their fear of her is ingrained in their very bones.”

No one fears that name more than the guards of the Wall of Night.

“Even if she hasn’t arrived yet, morale has already collapsed,” General Zhou shook his head. “If we force her to go into battle, we will only suffer heavy losses.”

"That woman hasn't arrived yet!" Wu Chanlu shouted hoarsely. "Even if she does, the troops and supplies she brings might not be enough to defeat us!"

“Since the arrow could reach this place, she is not far away,” General Zhou said woodenly. “She will march through the night and will surely arrive tomorrow.”

"So today is our last chance to attack!" Wu Chanlu was furious. "If we storm Luoyang and capture the King and Queen of Northern Wei, it will be too late for her to come with a large army."

“One day is not enough to take Luoyang,” General Zhou glanced at Wuchanlu, “it’s already too late.”

They had already lost before they could even capture Luoyang, having been forced into such a position by Ying Baoyue's troops.

“I know that woman. If she’s coming, she must have made full preparations.”

They lost this race against time.

"Rather than being wiped out by Ying Baoyue's army, we should take advantage of this day and a half to gather our troops and leave."

"What?" Wu Chanlu doubted his ears. He had besieged Luoyang for more than ten days, and before reinforcements even arrived, he was going to run away?
"No, things have come to this, and before the fight even starts, you're already thinking of running away?"

Retreat before even fighting?

“This is the only foolproof plan,” General Zhou said calmly. “Even if we launch a full-scale attack on Luoyang now, there will be no benefit. Staying here to face Ying Baoyue’s army directly will only result in heavy losses, or even total annihilation.”

Even though he had spent half his life on the battlefield, he never wanted to run into Ying Baoyue on the battlefield.

completely annihilated?

Upon hearing this, Wu Chanlu, who was originally furious, swallowed hard.

His life was now inextricably linked to this army; if the entire rebel force were wiped out, he would have no choice but to return to the monastery with his head.

"If we retreat, where can we go?" Wu Chanlu took a deep breath. "We can't exactly run back to the Great Wall of Eternal Night, can we?"

Zhao Guang has probably already sent troops to press on their borders; they have no way back.

Yun Zhongjun will not allow them to turn back.

"Turning back is a dead end."

“I know,” General Zhou said, his expression blank again. “Since we can’t take Luoyang, why not bypass Juyong Pass and attack Zijing Pass to the south, taking direct control of Southern Chu?” “Attack Zijing Pass?”

Wu Chanlu was stunned. He had originally thought this traitor was a coward, but he never expected that this man would not dare to face Ying Baoyue, but would dare to go south directly.

Zijing Pass is located at the junction of the Northern Wei, the Middle Tang and Southern Chu kingdoms. If this place is captured, one can directly reach Southern Chu.

"You're going to attack Southern Chu?"

Wu Chanlu frowned. "But Ji Mo is in Southern Chu."

"Isn't the King of Southern Chu just a greenhorn who has just ascended the throne?" General Zhou said expressionlessly. "Since we couldn't take Luoyang, wouldn't taking Danyang be enough?"

If they could capture Danyang, they could indeed give an explanation to Yun Zhongjun, but Wu Chanlu never expected the other party to be so audacious.

"The strength of Southern Chu far surpasses that of Northern Wei."

"That's not necessarily true," General Zhou said calmly. "The soldiers in the south don't have that many battles to fight."

No cavalry ever truly reached Southern Chu, and the southern plains were rarely affected by war, so the soldiers were far less capable in combat than those in the north.

"But no matter what, Ji Mo is still in Southern Chu..."

"I would much rather meet the Southern Chu National Preceptor than Princess Zhaoyang on the battlefield," General Zhou said, seemingly unfazed by Ji Mo's reputation.

Wu Chanlu stared at the other person for a long time to make sure that the other person was not lying and was serious.

"Alright, I need to consult with the deity."

……

……

Just two hours after Li Meiniang safely returned to the city, Meng Shi received news that the enemy army had begun to withdraw.

"Withdraw troops? Now?"

Meng Shi climbed the city wall in disbelief and discovered that the enemy had actually begun to withdraw their troops.

"Baoyue and the others haven't arrived yet. Why did the other side retreat?"

Meng Shi could hardly believe her eyes. Could Ying Baoyue really have made tens of thousands of enemy troops retreat with just a few arrows?
“It seems there are some sensible people in that rebel army on the other side,” Li Meiniang, wearing blood-stained armor, also climbed the city wall. “They realized that Baoyue’s army should be close by, so they prepared to retreat.”

"They just withdrew like that?" Meng Shi still couldn't believe it. "Where did they retreat to? Back to the Eternal Night Great Wall?"

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Li Meiniang said, staring at the vast army that was leaving on the horizon. “They’re a bunch of desperados who won’t leave until they’ve had their fill of human blood.”

"Why exactly did they rebel?" Meng Shi gritted her teeth. "His Majesty has been investigating the documents sent from the border over the years. Although the treatment at the border has not been good in recent years, it is not enough to warrant a rebellion against the court."

“I’m afraid it’s just because those people weren’t originally from the Northern Wei,” Li Meiniang said calmly, “just like me.”

She lived in hiding on the frontier for many years, and although she stayed on the Great Wall of Northern Wei, she was never a Wei person and would never serve Northern Wei.

When the Qin Dynasty suddenly collapsed, many Qin soldiers were left behind at the Great Wall of Eternal Night and forced to become the garrison of the Northern Wei. But in their hearts, they must have all had their own different hometowns and masters.

Meng Shi was stunned. "Then where are these people going next?"

“I cannot say for sure, but Baoyue should know.”

Just one day after the rebels withdrew, a large army reappeared outside Luoyang.

This time, the team's flag features a design of a flying serpent.